Devotionals for the Heart: What to do when you feel like a tangled mess

A Tangled Mess
A devotional by Glynis Becker

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” –John 15:1-2 (NASB)

This year I have untangled a lot of yarn.

Between quarantine for the Coronavirus and the time my family spent with my mother in hospice care, I have occupied many hours crocheting. Members of my family who have very little interest in crocheting have been recruited to help roll skeins into balls for me. It makes the crocheting easier if the yarn is in a ball, but if you have any experience with yarn, you’ll understand what a lot of work that can be, even before you get to your actual project and how sometimes you need more than two hands to do it.

If you are not a yarn enthusiast, here’s what you need to know: those skeins of yarn that are created using a machine look beautiful on the outside. You can go to the store and see rows and rows of soft yarns in every color of the rainbow. They all look so perfect and it’s easy to get mesmerized imagining all the beautiful projects you can make. Then you load up your cart, bring them all home, excited to get started.

You pull the end of the yarn from the middle of the skein and you start to roll. Sometimes you get lucky and the yarn is as perfect on the inside as it looks. But occasionally, one little tug on that string is all it takes to make a skein into a jumble, a huge lump of yarn that looks more like a string of Christmas lights thrown into a box than the beautiful puddle that it should be.

How often am I like that yarn? The one that looks great from the outside, when inside I’m a mess of hurt, anger, depression, hopelessness, unbelief, pride, and sin?

When I buy yarn, I can’t see what’s inside. If I could, I’d probably skip over the ones with a tangle in the middle and go for something a little easier. I know that I’d rather not spend my time untangling the mess, but rather on the creation of something beautiful.

Fortunately for us, even though Jesus sees the absolute worst mess inside of us, He chooses us. Every time. And He is willing to do all the work it takes to untangle us, break our strongholds, change our attitudes, heal our hurts, and settle our anxieties. Plus, all the while He is creating something beautiful in us and through us.

Bring Him your mess. Bring Him the tangle that you were never meant to fix by yourself. He isn’t scared or ashamed of you and He will never turn away an honest seeker. Only when we admit we’re a mess and then lay that jumble at His feet, will we ever become what He meant for us to be.

Let’s Pray: Jesus, I give you everything I have: the mess, the hurts, the sin, and all. I trust You to make something beautiful out of my life, something You can use for Your glory and Your purpose. Be in me and with me as I allow you to change me and make me more like You. Only You can do that. I love You. In Jesus’s Holy Name I pray, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Glynis Becker writes devotions and inspirational fiction, hoping someday to have a published novel on her resume. 

She has co-written several screenplays, including the film Sinking Sand, available on DVD and digital streaming.

Glynis, whose childhood was spent all over the country as an Air Force brat, has called South Dakota home for many years, along with her husband and two teenage children.

When she’s not writing or reading, she is watching more television than she should and crocheting. You can find her at www.glynisbecker.com.