I’ve been helping my soon-to-be-Freshman learn to cook this summer (at his request). Yesterday, it was scrambled eggs. Something that seems so simple to me took him awhile as he made a sticky mess – butter on the counter, egg all over his hands as he insisted that he knew how to crack them, a dirty pan sitting in the sink when he was done, milk left out of the fridge as he left his teenage fingerprint on my usually-clean kitchen. But you know what? I was still so delighted he asked; I was so thankful that he actually NEEDED me for something; I savored the time we spent side by side. And then, I stepped into his shoes for a moment and thought of my heavenly Father. I thought of all the times I’ve made a mess in my own life, feeling frustrated at myself for not reaching my high expectations, believing that somehow God was disappointed in me. And then I imagined what He might really say in those moments: “I love you, dear one. I delight in you. Your messes don’t define you, My love does.” I realized that everything I felt toward my son is felt by my Father toward me. And He’ll never leave me in my mess. Just like yesterday in the kitchen when I stood beside my son, wiping things down, helping him through the stickiness, God is right here in all the sometimes-confusing, often-overwhelming details of my imperfect life, experiencing it all with me, showing me the best way through. Imagine what tender words He might be speaking to your heart today.