I’ve sat with the same passage of scripture in front of me for over three months, chewing on it and chewing some more. Several times I tried to find a take-away and move on, but each time it was over-generalized, and my heart was not satisfied. Then, at just the right time, the purpose that God had for me in this story became clear and it spoke wisdom into a trial that my husband and I were facing.

People are messy. I’m not talking peanut butter in the hair kind of messy, although sometimes that happens. I’m talking about pouring out your heart and letting friends into your personal world kind of messy. I was chatting with a friend one day and we exchanged prayer requests. A few hours later I looked at her and said, “okay, now what’s your REAL prayer request?” Then the true conversation began and I got a glimpse into her heart.