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Mashed Potatoes are not my cooking specialty. My potatoes are always lumpy. I even have a stand mixer and have allowed those potatoes to beat and beat and beat, and they are still lumpy. Therefore, I resorted to instant potatoes.
One day, I was preparing those instant potatoes in the microwave. Very carefully, I took the bowl of boiling water, salt, and butter and sat it on the counter. I then added the milk, and when I began pouring the milk into the bowl, the bowl exploded. I do mean exploded. There were shattered pieces of my glass bowl everywhere, along with water and butter. Shattered. Not a few pieces of glass. There was not a piece of glass larger than my pinky finger on the floor.
For a few minutes, I stood in shock and looked at the big mess now everywhere in my kitchen. How in the world do you even begin to clean up shattered and buttery wet glass?
After a few minutes of shock and disbelief, I found myself on my knees very carefully using paper towels to try and push the shattered glass into a pile all the while soaking up some of the water and butter. It was a big mess. Instant potatoes had most definitely gone wrong!
The Lesson in the Mess
In the middle of the floor on my knees, cleaning shattered glass, with my eyes fully focused on the glass on the floor as to not cut myself, there was another lesson to be learned besides how to cook mashed potatoes.
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit. ~ Psalm 34:18
You see, I couldn’t go off and leave that shattered bowl. My kids might have stepped on it and been hurt. And God doesn’t go off and leave us when we are broken. He is near. He is close.
Since that shattered mess, I have walked through numerous difficulties in life where I was tempted to think God was not there; He did not see where I was. Some of you find yourself in a shattered mess right now. Even when it feels like God is not in the middle of your shattered mess, cling tightly to the promise of His word that God is near the broken.
Ask God to bless your obedience in claiming His promise over your life and ask Him to help you feel His presence. Truth outweighs our feelings. Even when the truth doesn’t feel true, continue to proclaim His truth in your life. Eventually, it will feel true.
Claiming God’s Truth
I am so grateful that claiming God’s truth in our broken places never goes wrong. His truth will always bring comfort, peace, and joy. It will give guidance and direction. His truth will defeat the enemy in our lives. Let’s get busy claiming His truth in the middle of our shattered mess. And never forget, that even if it doesn’t feel like it, God is near when your instant potatoes go wrong.
I would love to hear what truth you need to claim in your life today! If you don’t know the power of His Word, I would be honored for you to reach out to me. I will walk alongside you while you discover His life-changing truth. For me, I am still claiming this same truth today, “God is near the brokenhearted. He saves those crushed in spirit.” Shattered messes never go away, but God’s Word will always stand!
>>Related: Stop Letting Just and Only Define Who You Are<<
About the Author: Karen lives in Huntsville, Alabama with her husband and three (19, 17 and 8-year-old) children. She has served as Preschool and Children’s Minister as well as taught online for Freedom Project Academy. Her primary focus right now is homeschooling and caregiving to her husband. She also finds herself sharing glimpses of their lives with others, via her blog. She has encountered what it means to be stripped of everything that seems normal to her all the way down to what she puts in her mouth. But after being stripped down, she sees how God is using some of the darkest places in her life to comfort others in their darkest moments!
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