There is nothing worse than legos on the floor. Like a death trap in the night, they can destroy a perfectly good midnight snack. And if it were just legos, that'd be one thing - but our kids toys and snacks find their way into every nook and cranny of our house. It takes approximately three and a half minutes for every toy in our house to be be taken out and cover every square inch of a room. And if things are going really well for our kids, they might find candy wedged under the couch that they've kept stashed for weeks. 

And then there's the dishes, have you ever noticed that dishes are never clean? The moment our dishwasher is emptied, there's another pile waiting to go in.  

And why do socks never come out of the dryer in pairs? If God has a reason for everything, will somebody please find out why God makes us bear the torture of having an endless pile of socks without matches? 

Daily Defeat and Dirty Floors

My wife is a stay-at-home mom of two (almost three) little terrorists who in a moment's notice transform our house from a battle zone to a dance floor or from a movie theater to a shopping mall. Because of the age of our kids, it's almost daily that I hear from my wife, "I got nothing done today."  

For my wife - this is a defeat.

By her standards of motherhood, she's failed. After all, a good mom would have the smell of a home-cooked dinner wafting in the air when I walk in the door (mixed, of course, with the smell of diffusing essential oils). The children would be neatly doing crafts, every sock would have its match, and every toy would be in its place. 

Now, I don't know where moms come up with this standard, but I do know it crushes exhausted mothers. When parenting success is based on an arbitrary (and unattainable) list of rules, you are always a failure. And when that arbitrary list of rules determines the good parent from the bad - you are never good enough.  

But what if there were something better? 

Your worth is not measured by the cleanliness of your house, the obedience of your kids, or neatly-folded laundry. Your worth is not measured by your ability to meet your own standard of success. @@Your worth is not - and never will be - measured by your performance.@@ 

1 John 3:1 says, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" When Jesus said, "It is finished," your worth was forever secured independent of your performance.  

@@Jesus doesn't need your clean floors.@@ 

The completion of your to-do list doesn't make you a good spouse. Your ability to have an organic, home-cooked meal on the table everyday might give you more standing for your instagram followers, but it doesn't before God or your family. The legos on the floor - they might not be good for your feet, but they're good for your kids. 

In fact, maybe the freedom to forget the self-made rules will allow you, today, to embrace the mess. God loves messy floors. He loves the freedom of the mom who gets nothing done but playing and pretending. He loves the freedom of the mom who doesn't measure up to her standard of cleanliness yet exceeds the expectations of her kids when she's laughing and dancing. He loves the freedom of the spouses who come home, not with expectations of tasks being completed but of a family being loved. 

God loves messy floors because God loves when his children love their children. 

God loves messy floors because in it we do the work that can't be measured - it can't be checked for dust, crossed off a list, or put in a box - only given. And it's in that kind of love, a love that only a parent can give, that you might see God's own love for you. His love doesn't change with the mess, can't be crossed off a list, and always gives endlessly to His children.