When Adam and Eve were in the garden (in the days BEFORE the fall), they were perfect. Then their lives got messy. Things started happening. First they had to move, then they had to figure out how to eat and protect themselves from the weather, how to raise children who also had messiness of their own. But, as Enos (and so many in the scriptures) report, they lived their “wrestle” or their messiness before God. They didn’t try to hide it, they kept Him in the loop and let Him help them. It didn’t change what was happening – only how they came through it.
Our lives are messy, too. This is the beautiful plan of our Heavenly Father. He stands ready to help us through our messes (whether they are self-inflicted or not), if we would only ask and if we do our best to keep the commandments and keep our covenants.
David Butler once said that God is a God of second chances. That is so true. We seem to need to repent over and over for the same things. Yet, He is just waiting for us to stop, repent, and try again. We were born perfect and we can be perfect again – but the middle part is the messy part. I pray for all of us that we will allow Heavenly Father to work with us in figuring out how to get through this part. The end goal is so worth it!
The thoughts you’ve expressed here are so relevant to each of us in different ways. Each of our messes are different but the answer is the same. When we turn to our Heavenly Father our messes can be manageable. Thanks for this post, mom.