Messy Praise
My faith looked very messy for years upon years. And that was simply because my life looked messy too.
I found my way to my faith walk in the middle of life with a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and an eight-month-old… in a new town… as a Marine Corps spouse… and a second time homeowner after a few years of rental living.
There was no perfect moment to start. There was no season where everything was settled and I could finally “do faith the right way.” It was just… messy life, messy faith, and showing up anyway.
The Beginning
In September 2013, I remember going through the house cleaning and taking care of everything that I needed to. I was standing at the counter with the TV to my right. It turns on and there’s Joyce Meyer delivering a sermon.
I had no idea who she was, but she said everything that I needed to hear in that moment. It was a question that had been weighing on my heart.
Why was child abuse allowed?
What was the purpose for it?
I had heard a lot of different testimonies that just didn’t speak to me. They spoke of having good childhoods, but then choosing to sin afterwards and then choosing to be saved. But what about those of us who didn’t choose it? I needed to know why.
She spoke of the enemy coming after some of us as children because they cannot see us step into what God has in store for us. The light that we will be if we’re able to grow in our faith.
It was everything I needed to hear. And it was my way into a deeper faith.
What Radical Acceptance Actually Looked Like for Me
After that moment, I started finding Him everywhere I could fit Him… not waiting for the perfect circumstances or the perfect seasons.
I did things like pray my way through grocery shopping with four kids. Saying over and over again “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13
As I ran half marathons and marathons, I chose to have Hebrews 12:1 and Isaiah 40:31 on the back of my shoes to help me find my way through the miles. To help me endure.
I had prayer verses I was trying to remember on sticky notes on my bathroom mirror that I tried to commit to memory while I brushed my teeth or washed my hands.
During one of the scariest races for me because I had to run at night, I played sermons that I had downloaded on my iPod.
I tried to find all sorts of challenges that could have me connecting with Him in the world each and every day. Even if it was just small verses.
I read endless amounts of Christian books.
I made sure that we had Bible verses around on our home decor.
The kids had children’s Bibles in all of their rooms.
We watched VeggieTales and listened to their songs while we drove.
As the kids got older, we had shirts with scripture on it like “be strong and courageous” Joshua 1:6.
Each child had a leather bracelet wrap with a verse very specific to them and their personality.
As the kids got older, we found our way into our first home church and then into Bible school that they really enjoyed.
It was messy. Chaotic sometimes. Not picture-perfect.
But we still found our way to Him.
What This Actually Teaches Us About Meeting Yourself in Your Season
I spent years thinking I needed to have it all together to build a spiritual practice.
To pray “right.”
To read the Bible “enough.”
To be a good example.
What I learned instead is that abiding in Him doesn’t require a perfect life.
It requires a willing heart in an imperfect one.
Here’s the best that I can give from what I experienced in my messy faith walk.
1. Radical Acceptance of Your Current Season
“To everything there is a season…” Ecclesiastes 3:1
You are not in the wrong season to start. You’re not too busy. Your life is not too messy. Your circumstances are not too complicated. This season… the one you’re actually in right now… is the one where things can happen.
Radical acceptance doesn’t mean you like everything about where you are. It means you stop using it as a reason to postpone what matters.
Practically…. What have you been waiting to start until life settles down? Your faith practice. Your fitness. Your health. Your healing. The season you’re waiting for isn’t coming. This one is the one. What’s one small thing you can integrate into your actual life today?
2. Integration Over Perfection
I didn’t wait until I had time for elaborate prayer practices. I prayed through grocery shopping.
I didn’t wait for perfect running conditions. I played sermons on my iPod during night races.
I didn’t wait for a perfect home. I put Bible verses on sticky notes in the bathroom.
None of these were the “ideal” way to do any of it. But they were the way that actually fit into my real life.
The enemy of your transformation isn’t imperfection. It’s perfectionism. It’s waiting for the ideal circumstance that keeps you stuck in the actual one.
Practically… How can you integrate what matters to you into your actual life, not some imaginary perfect version? If you want to pray more, where can it fit into what you’re already doing? If you want to move your body, what looks like that in your real schedule? If you want to eat better, what can you actually sustain in your messy life?
3. Small Practices Compound Into Real Change
I wasn’t doing grand gestures. I was doing small ones. Sticky notes on a mirror. Verses on shoelaces. VeggieTales in the car. Prayers through the produce section.
None of these looked like “real faith practice” compared to what I saw happening in churches or in other people’s testimonies. But they were real. And they were mine. And they added up.
Over years, those small practices became the foundation. The fabric of how we lived. The way my children understood their faith. The way I endured hard seasons.
Practically… Stop looking for the one big change that will transform everything. Look for the small practices you can actually sustain. One sticky note. One prayer. One verse on one shoelace. One song in one car ride. These compound. They matter. They’re how real transformation happens.
4. Meet Yourself Where You Actually Are, Not Where You Think You Should Be
I was a Marine Corps spouse in a new town with three babies and a mortgage. That was my reality. Not a retreat or a quiet prayer room or a calm schedule. Chaos. Responsibility. Exhaustion.
And I had two choices: wait until my life looked different to start building what mattered, or start building it in the life I actually had.
Meeting yourself where you are doesn’t mean accepting that as your destination. It means starting from the only place you actually are… right now… with what you actually have… doing what you actually can.
Practically… What’s your actual situation right now? Single parent. Full-time job. Young kids. Chronic pain. Financial stress. Grief. Write it down. Now… given that reality, not despite it, what’s one small practice or change you can actually implement? That’s where real transformation starts.
5. He Wants to Meet You in the Mess
“It doesn’t always have to just be heading to church on the weekends to be a follower of Jesus. You can find your way to Him in the mess. He wants to be with you in the mess. He already knew the mess that you were going to be in before you even knew it existed.”
This applies to everything you’re building and becoming. Not just faith. Your strength doesn’t require a perfect life. Your consistency doesn’t require ideal circumstances. Your transformation doesn’t wait for when things settle down.
The God who meets you in the chaos of three babies and a new town also meets you in your imperfect fitness journey, your messy nutrition choices, your real life trying to become who you’re supposed to be.
Practically… Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for perfect conditions. Stop waiting for the season to change. He’s already here. In the mess. Waiting for you to show up with what you have, where you are.
Abiding in the Real
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:4-11 ESV
Abiding doesn’t mean perfect. It means present. It means showing up in the middle of the mess and letting Him meet you there. It means taking one small step when you can. It means praying through the grocery store and calling it prayer. It means putting verses on sticky notes and calling it spiritual practice. It means finding your way forward in the chaos, not waiting for the chaos to end.
It was messy for a while. But we still found our way to Him… in our lives… in our homes… in our hearts.
And you can too. Right where you are. Right now. With what you have. Even in the mess. Especially in the mess.
That’s where it all actually lives.
I hope this blessed you ♥️
