The Incomplete Illusion {Messy Monday}

You may recall we are having a garage sale.

You also may recall that some things tend to be incomplete around here.

So when my husband suggested we take out every single glass from our cupboard, as well as those cowering under the kitchen sink, and those in the boxes we still haven't unpacked since we moved here, I said, "Go for it." Meaning, "You do the heavy lifting and I will tell you what stays and what goes. I mean, we will together decide what stays and what goes. Right."

The glasses, mugs, cups, sippies, water bottles, and other miscellaneous junk covered our floor. Occasionally we would run across a complete set of glasses. In our house we have a word for that phenomenon: Miracle. Our house is where complete sets come to die, so our eyes widened and our brows furrowed when we'd run across even numbers of the same beverage containers.

Then I saw my sweet mugs and did a happy dance. I have a few random mugs that I adore, but I have one set that is particularly close to my heart. I rescued the set a few years back from a second-hand store. They're quirky, with a handle that looks like a capital B. They are my Sweet B mugs. And I had every single one!

A week later, I prepared to meet my dear friend Simply Beth. I wanted to give her more than a ride- I wanted to give her a gift to remember her trip and our time together. Something that would mean something. I racked my brain. Do I head to Hobby Lobby or Family Christian Store and pick her up something cute? Do I make her a necklace with beads formed by the Suubi women from Light Gives Heat? Do I buy some sweet Iowa State scrapbooking paper and make her some bookmarks to use in the pile of books she's reading right now?

I sipped my coffee and thought. The coffee in my Sweet B mug. It's a simple mug. Simple. B. Simply Beth. And she's sweet just like the mugs. That makes sense, right? But who wants a random mug? And you have a complete set!

What is the point of a complete set? Really, we were so excited to have found some. It was like we had arrived. We were real adults now. Adults who could keep four mugs together, even six, so we must be able to keep our lives together, right? Look at us! We have it together! But when I have coffee company over, I never give everyone the same mug- way too confusing. Who wants to spend the morning asking, "Wait. Is this one mine or yours?" So a complete set seems kind of... superfluous.

So I decided to give Beth a mug because she is now a part of my life. And when you have been made complete in Christ, there is only one thing to do with your life- give it away.

That's why all those epistles start with the writers praying for churches from a distance. That's why they call each other brothers. Because being adopted into God's family makes us brothers and sisters. You know that already I'm sure, but in a society where we can spell me with two i's, we need to be reminded that wii is a fun way to play, but a crappy way to live. Each of us complete in Christ is joined together to share lives because our lives no longer belong to us anyway. We are a body, a family, a kingdom together. That's how we are called to live.

The world would look at my collection and see it as incomplete, but I know it's not. It's more complete than it was before, because it's being shared a state away. My adorable mug resides in a cupboard far away, holding a reminder of the love of Christ that binds together sisters from two different mothers.

It's just another example of how Christ fills the empty, common things with a love that knows no bounds.

Praying for you all, wherever you are, and thanking God for uniting us in Him. What a huge family we have, let's invite some more:) Love you all!