The Speckled Goat

I have some high expectations for this life of mine.

I want perfect. I want planned, well-structured, clean-cut lines. I want scheduled. I want expectations exceeded, I want organized, I want unblemished. Simple and righteous and consistent and black-and-white.

Of course, my life looks nothing like that.

Maybe yours doesn't, either.






Maybe, like mine, your life is messy. Unpredictable. Maybe your relationships are complicated; your path is far from straight.

But... what if--

What if the inconveniences, the disappointments, the unmet expectations, the harsh realities of this life- what if they're all just part of the blessing?

What if a life that's 'perfect' and scheduled and straight-forward is also a life that's shallow?

What if all those messes we make, all those problems we come up against, are part of finding our way to God? 


Maybe a blessed life isn't a perfect life or a famous life or an easy life.

Maybe a life that's broken, spotted, unplanned is really the most beautiful because it's open. Because it's vulnerable. It's transparent and honest. Because it points to our humanity and hurt and need for a Savior.

Jacob's life was complicated.

He was far from home, tricked into marrying two feuding sisters who used children as weapons against one another. His employer and father-in-law was bent on draining Jacob dry, taking him for all he was worth.

I don't think he planned on a life quite like that.

It wasn't a perfect life, not by any means. But God took Jacob blessed him, and used him mightily. 

Was Jacob's life ever made simple? "Fixed," if you will?

No.

Remember, this is the man who played favorites among his children. Some of his sons sold Jacob's favorite child into slavery. Even in the midst of sin and mistakes and wrong attitudes, God blessed Jacob's life.

I believe God will bless yours, and mine, too.

Because a life that's messy and imperfect? It's still good. And I will see God's blessings and His goodness to me through all the days of this sometimes painful, often disappointing, always imperfect life.

I need to trust in this truth: He'll bless me still.

Maybe not in the way I thought He would.

Actually, in my experience, He rarely blesses me the way I thought He would. Instead, God surprises me with His goodness.

Instead of looking for perfect, instead of looking for unblemished- let's look for those surprising blessings. The unexpected ones. The speckled ones. 

And just like Jacob, we know that God will give us more than we could ever have dreamed. Even if life doesn't look the way we thought it would.

When You don’t move the mountains I need You to move

When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through

When You don’t give the answers as I cry out to You

I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

-Laura Daigle "Trust in You"