Messy

We have this wonderful Royal Star magnolia tree right beside our patio wall. It was quite large when we moved into this house almost twenty years ago, and it has continued to grow and sprawl. It has lots of branches both large and small creating a sort of imitation web, perhaps learned from the lovely spiders who use it as an anchor for rather immense webs of their own.

We string lights through all these branches to brighten up the evenings. Because there are so many branches we are able to weave the strings of lights in ways that illuminate not only the tree but also the patio area beside the tree. In winter, the snow creates enchantment.

In contrast, we had another tree close to the patio but without all of the various branches and growth. While we could hang lights on it, they were pretty straight up and down. It was lovely but not nearly as visually interesting and attractive.

It made me reflect on some of the most interesting people I know, especially the most interesting people of faith that I know. Their stories are full of growth and sprawl and every which way but loose (thanks Clint for the phrase). Every part of their story provides a place to hang a light of what God did in that moment. Their stories shine in all sorts of interesting ways through all sorts of twists and turns, impacting different people in different ways.

That’s not to say that the light from people whose life stories are not quite as convoluted is lesser or not as valuable. It just seems to me that the Royal Star lives may have light for a wider range of people.

So before you lament that God can’t use you to shine His light because your story is so wandering and winding and twisted around, remember that the winding and mesh give a lot of places to hang the light of God’s intervention and goodness, a lot of places that can speak to a wide range of people. People looking for someone like them whom God has used to bring light into darkness.

Royal Stars.