Life is messy...

I've been reflecting recently on how messy life can be.  Even when things are going fine on the surface, underneath is a mess of misunderstandings, imperfect relationships and a bad case of 'foot in mouth' syndrome: aka 'saying the wrong thing' = tactlessness.  In fact, tactless should probably be my middle name.
And so, while I pay lip service to 'accepting my imperfections', 'coming humbly before the throne of God' etc etc, the reality is that every time I mess up it is a big deal.
So here are some thought-provoking links.
The first, is on the necessity of living - imperfectly - in community.  Ann Voskamp writes, reflects, blogs, publishes - 'One Thousand Gifts' has been inspirational.  I'll read this again when tempted to beat myself up over my mistakes.
The second is on reconciliation (which Ann touches on in the first blog post above).  This is what I read:
"HURT HAPPENS. If you haven’t already experienced this today, it’s coming soon…Somebody says something that grieves somebody else. Maybe intentionally, maybe not. Maybe it was by you, maybe it was to you. Either way, feelings are hurt or anger is stirred or withdrawal has happened.What now? God wants you to make the first move toward healing, regardless of who made the first cut. As you tell your kids, “Kiss and make up.” Or in grown-up lingo, be a “minister of reconciliation.”Whatever you call it, it’s your calling."

I'm fine with that, honestly.  Now I've just got to work on forgiving myself...