There are those who say that to begin, to start, is the hardest part.
I disagree.
I think it is often much harder to begin again.
We start a new eating plan and visions of new, smaller pants dance in front of us– all the way to the produce department at Whole Foods.
We set out on a bright, Saturday morning with a trip to Lowe’s and an episode of Fixer-Upper in our minds– and the thought of turning our closet into a fully functioning Pottery Barn-esque mudroom seems highly attainable in one afternoon.
We lace up running shoes and practically leap out of bed that first Monday morning after New Year’s Day with complete surety that we will be stronger and faster by lunchtime tomorrow.
We open the laptop in the corner booth at Panera with every intention of finally writing that book we always wanted to begin.
Because with every new and sometimes scary adventure, we have the benefit of excitement. The shining possibility of what may, what will come and it propels us rapidly forward. Well past the uncertainty of our own ability.
But only for a while.
In between the exciting beginning and the victorious end, is something scary. The messy middle, and that is where things get tough.
We fail. We find out we aren’t quite as disciplined as we hoped. We find we would rather sleep in one morning and one morning turns into three… weeks.
The reality of that project, that book, that idea– is that it’s anything but easy. In fact, it’s just plain hard. Harder than maybe we thought.
May I make a suggestion? In that messy middle where we just absolutely hate that we have in our minds, “failed again,” perhaps a change of focus is in order.
Instead of plummeting into defeat, disgusted with our weakness– maybe we just lean into our weakness.
Lean a little further and know that all this? It is hard for a reason. It is hard because we aren’t meant to do it alone.
Here is what I know. I know that when we are given tasks that seem too big for us, it is because they most certainly are.
But the Good News?
He knows we are broken. He loves us in spite of it.
He knows we are flawed. He is the only One who is not.
He knows we are helpless. He is our only Help.
And HE who called us to do this thing, wants us to depend on His strength– and then to GET BACK UP AND KEEP GOING.
Because the Messy Middle cannot last forever.
And you are not a failure. You are His Masterpiece.
So KEEP AT IT.
Linking up with the Five Minute Friday Party today. Hop over here and see what everyone else is saying about the word, Keep.
Amen! 🙂
Thank you, Jolene.
I love this post. 🙂 It gave me a burst of “I CAN do it!” energy. 🙂
I blogged about weakness earlier this week. We truly aren’t meant to go it alone. Thank goodness! I love that God gives us dreams and callings that are too big for us. Because it’s only as we lean into our weakness and trust Him that we can accomplish what He’s given us. And oh the joy when we move beyond the messy middle to the victorious end!
I’m your FMF neighbor this week, and I’m so glad.
Hey Jeanne, Thanks for stopping by. I would love to go check out your post on weakness as well! It’s truly funny– that I’ve had to go back and remind myself of this truth several times since hitting publish– apparently it is a lesson I desperately needed this week. Glad you said hello!
I love this post. 🙂 It gave me a burst of “I CAN do it!” energy. 🙂
I blogged about weakness earlier this week. We truly aren’t meant to go it alone. Thank goodness! I love that God gives us dreams and callings that are too big for us. Because it’s only as we lean into our weakness and trust Him that we can accomplish what He’s given us. And oh the joy when we move beyond the messy middle to the victorious end!
I’m your FMF neighbor this week, and I’m so glad.
Hey Jeanne, Thanks for stopping by. I would love to go check out your post on weakness as well! It’s truly funny– that I’ve had to go back and remind myself of this truth several times since hitting publish– apparently it is a lesson I desperately needed this week. Glad you said hello!
“The messy middle cannot last forever.” Inspiring words this week, Cynthia! Visiting from FMF.
Hi friend! Though it sometimes feels like it will, right? Glad you dropped in– <3
“The messy middle cannot last forever.” Inspiring words this week, Cynthia! Visiting from FMF.
Hi friend! Though it sometimes feels like it will, right? Glad you dropped in– <3
Excellent post. I’m one of those people who loves to get started on things but gets bored or distracted in the messy middle and cannot finish things. Some people are great finishers; I’m not one of them! Turns out I need accountability to be disciplined, I simply cannot do it without others – and God, to spur me forward.
Excellent post. I’m one of those people who loves to get started on things but gets bored or distracted in the messy middle and cannot finish things. Some people are great finishers; I’m not one of them! Turns out I need accountability to be disciplined, I simply cannot do it without others – and God, to spur me forward.
Visiting from #FMF. The middle of everything is hard – it’s where the mundane and mediocrity start showing up. Colleen had a good post today about “what we KEEP doing” over and over, when no one is watching and no one seems to care but we keep doing it because we know it is what God called us to.
Hi there! I’ll have to check out Colleen’s post in a little while, thank you for pointing me there. And yes, mundane and mediocrity is not nearly as fun or exciting as the beginning!! Glad you stopped by!
Visiting from #FMF. The middle of everything is hard – it’s where the mundane and mediocrity start showing up. Colleen had a good post today about “what we KEEP doing” over and over, when no one is watching and no one seems to care but we keep doing it because we know it is what God called us to.
Hi there! I’ll have to check out Colleen’s post in a little while, thank you for pointing me there. And yes, mundane and mediocrity is not nearly as fun or exciting as the beginning!! Glad you stopped by!
As you know, we are in the “messy middle” of adoption and this post seems to have been written for me! Thanks friend! Love you!
Yes friend, I know. You are on my heart so often regarding this and I SO hope the messy middle turns out to be shorter than it could be. More than that I pray He continues to comfort you in the waiting. Love you Kasey!
As you know, we are in the “messy middle” of adoption and this post seems to have been written for me! Thanks friend! Love you!
Yes friend, I know. You are on my heart so often regarding this and I SO hope the messy middle turns out to be shorter than it could be. More than that I pray He continues to comfort you in the waiting. Love you Kasey!
I am stuck right in the messy middle today. The glimmer and hope of the new beginning has faded and I have had my only personal pity party but it is time to get up and keep going. Thank you for the reminder and encouragement.
Praying for you today, Amy. Praying God will give you a new burst of excitement and energy as you press on. Cheering for you over here friend!
I am stuck right in the messy middle today. The glimmer and hope of the new beginning has faded and I have had my only personal pity party but it is time to get up and keep going. Thank you for the reminder and encouragement.
Praying for you today, Amy. Praying God will give you a new burst of excitement and energy as you press on. Cheering for you over here friend!
This is so where I find myself. I gained those ugly 5 lbs during the holidays and didn’t even want to fight to get it back off. I mean come on it took a full year just to get those off do I really want to fight again.
Girl. Me too. That’s definitely one of my messy middles I’ve been standing in for what feels like way too long. Praying for you Amber. Hope you have a victorious week, friend. <3
This is so where I find myself. I gained those ugly 5 lbs during the holidays and didn’t even want to fight to get it back off. I mean come on it took a full year just to get those off do I really want to fight again.
Girl. Me too. That’s definitely one of my messy middles I’ve been standing in for what feels like way too long. Praying for you Amber. Hope you have a victorious week, friend. <3
Oh yes starting something new is so extremely exciting. The work in the middle is where discouragement starts to set in. I have to remind myself so often that He will complete this good work that He has started in me…even on those days that I am not even sure what that work is. I’m visiting you from #FMF, and really enjoyed finding your blog.
Oh yes starting something new is so extremely exciting. The work in the middle is where discouragement starts to set in. I have to remind myself so often that He will complete this good work that He has started in me…even on those days that I am not even sure what that work is. I’m visiting you from #FMF, and really enjoyed finding your blog.
Hi there! I’m glad we found each other here. Yes, discouragement in the middle– so true. I need Him so much at every stage but in the middle its glaringly obvious, isn’t it? Thank you for stopping by today.
Hi there! I’m glad we found each other here. Yes, discouragement in the middle– so true. I need Him so much at every stage but in the middle its glaringly obvious, isn’t it? Thank you for stopping by today.