Brows or no brows.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”.

Ok, I think it’s time I fess up and tell you all the truth. When I leave the house, most times I try to make sure that I look decent. Like really decent. My eyebrows have not heard the good news yet, so they haven’t found life. They need to be drawn on every day. I can leave my house with minimal make up but I struggle to leave with zero make up cause them brows ain’t my friends!

Anyway, you may be wondering why the confession. Well, our question for today is, “What if it’s messy?” What if obeying God is messy? I am trusting God that soon, I am going to find myself face to face with my Boaz. However, when that day comes, I want to have some brows! Hence the struggle is real. I was having a conversation with God and I was telling Him how I want my story to be perfect. I want to look good when I meet him. I have this scene from a movie in my head, wind blowing through my hair and everything.

I got the sense that through all these things that I have in my head of what it is supposed to look like, I was putting myself in a nicely labelled box and I was squeezing God in there with me. We should not put God in a box. God’s plans for us are for good. As much as I may think it would be disastrous if I meet my Boaz the one time I haven’t drawn my eyebrows on, in the large scope of things it really doesn’t matter. Nothing in life is perfect. Life is messy. In fact, all the fun things happen outside of our nicely labelled boxes.

Sometimes, when God gives us the breakthrough we are after or that miracle we have been praying for, it may be messy. Sometimes in our obedience to God, things get messy.

Luke 2:7 paints us a picture of Jesus’ birth and how He laid to sleep in a manger, which is a feeding trough, surrounded by animals and probs some manure, I paraphrase. But Joseph and Mary had done everything they were supposed to do in obedience to God and that was God’s plan. Mary giving birth to her first baby (God’s Son and Saviour of the world) in a barn, nowhere comfortable to lay down and no epidural or midwife. Messy to us, perfect in the Father’s eyes. Such a modest introduction to the King of kings.

Just because something seems or looks messy does not mean it’s outside of God’s plan. Sometimes messy is God’s plan. We may not understand it but at least we can embrace it and release ourselves from the imprisonment of seeking perfection from ourselves and others. I don’t know what boxes you have in your life or what areas or people you expect perfection from. What I do know is that only God is perfect. He knows this so He does not expect perfection from us. Excellence, yes. Perfection, no.

We must free ourselves to embrace whatever God has planned for us. Brows or no brows.

Love and Blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.