Your life is a gift.   I'll never forget the day my husband and I thought it would be a good idea to give our oldest sons legos.  Legos people of all things, legos.  I also remember the day I made the biggest regret of my life, I'm just kidding but SERIOUSLY (Insert biggest sigh of aggravation you can imagine).

When I chose to give Jude an entire tub of legos, I knew what I was doing.  I knew exactly what was going to happen.  I knew he would dump them out, I knew there would be messes, I knew I would stumble and I knew there would be great amount of suffering felt all the way from the bottom of my foot to the top of my head.  His gift, that I gave him, would cause me inconvenience, frustration, and hurt me.  I also knew I would have to spend time helping him clean up his legos.  None of these things, kept me from giving him a gift. 

I also knew, his gift would bring him joy, sharpen his motor skills, develop creativity, teach him to share, how to navigate through challenges and difficulties.  I knew his gift would add to his developmental process, maturity, growth and an abundance of memories.  This gift would not only enrich his life but others who came into his life.  I knew this gift would help shape and mold the way he thought, his decision-making skills.  He would learn balance, and stability, experience high emotion of completing a building, dreaming a dream, and learning that he could if he tried.  I desired for him to learn hard work pays off.  There are many more things this one gift would bring him and me.  I knew this gift would grow with him.  He would enjoy this gift for years. 

I wonder if this is the way our Father sees the gifts he gives us in our life.  He knows the ends and outs.  He knew what he was doing when he gave us the gift of our life, just like he knew what he was doing when he gave us the gift of his life.  Your life is a gift.  Your life though difficult, frustrating, and painful at times, is a gift.  You are a gift.  He knew you would make a mess with your gift, just like I knew my oldest would make a mess with his gift.  Your mess didn’t deter him from blessing you.  He like I as a mother also knew he would have to come in and help you clean your mess up. 

I often tell my son, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”  In this life you are going to have many troubles, but Jesus said he was going to leave us peace, and a comforter.  Don’t be afraid to ask Holy Spirit, the Great comforter, for help with your gift, your life. 

Maybe you need help cleaning up your mess.  Maybe you need help trying to navigate through emotions you are feeling from the frustrations of your gift.  Perhaps you are agitated with the one you are forced to share your gift with AKA your husband or family member. Could it be you need insight on how to creatively use your gift, your life, in a way that brings joy and fulfillment to others around you? 

I want to leave you with this, life is a gift, life is messy, but don’t be afraid to ask for help.  He knew, and yet he still decided to give.  Don’t quit giving.  Don’t quit living.