What an exciting morning it is in the houses of many families. A day when you get to dress up and be someone else. A day filled with candy and treats, and extended bedtimes.

I remember the Halloween mornings with my kids still at home. I remember the fuss, and trying to get that makeup just right. I remember trying to contain the crazy in them, and the crazy in me. And what I would give to go back and whisper in my own ear and say, “it doesn’t have to be perfect. It can be crazy today.”

It can be crazy today. Not every day is going to be like this. Today, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just be here for it.

Gosh, isn’t that a reminder we all need? Not just on the morning of Halloween costumes, but on the morning of real life when things aren’t fitting perfectly in their place. On a day that feels out of your control. On a day that is totally uncertain and maybe even a little scary.

Yes, hear this now, it can be crazy today. Not every day is going to be like this.

This is for the mother of the 7 year old with a 7 am sugar rush, and the wife waking up to another day of life without her husband. This is for the one exhausted from the speed of life, and the one who feels like she has nothing to wake up for. For the one who has doubts and fears, and the one who is hoping this isn’t really too good to be true. It’s for all of us.

It’s for all of us because life happens to all of us. There are ups, then there are downs. There are gains, then there are loses. There is joy and sadness, triumph and disappointment, progress and pain, sunshine and rain. Each are required for our existence. Some of us woke up to sunshine today, and others woke up to rainstorms. And here’s what I know … if you have sun, the rain will come. If you have rain, somehow that sun will shine again.

Not every day is going to be like this.

You have to know that, Sis. It won’t always be like this. For the good and for the bad. For the ups and for the downs.

We can make our plans for the future, then those plans can go and get totally turned upside down and now nothing makes sense. Life can take a turn and leave you wandering through an existence you never imagined yourself in. And while every fiber of your body is screaming, “this is never going to be okay again”, you have a God who is working in ways you cannot see or understand, to ensure not every day will be like this for you.

Life is unpredictable and incredibly fragile. Our very lives hang on a fine thread, and every single day it requires a million unseen miracles to ensure that thread stays intact. Knowing this, you could freak out and rock yourself in a dark corner trying to self-protect, or you could boldly show up and live, remembering your fine thread is in the hands of a Mighty God, and as long as he says you’re here, THEN YOU ARE HERE!

So, why not go ahead and live today?

Yes, right in the middle of the chaos, LIVE! Look around at all that is good and right, and remember, it won’t always be like this. Sit a little longer and savor this. Breathe in the sweetness that is here now, even when that sweetness is messy.

If you’re waiting for life to settle down before you start living, you’re wasting your days. If you’ve believed the lie of the enemy that tells you “life will be better when”, then you’ve been tricked into trading the priceless realities of today for a tomorrow that was never promised.

Do you remember the story of Naomi and Ruth? Naomi had lost her husband and her two sons. Imagine her grief. Imagine her pain. In fact, she even changed her name and in Ruth 1: 20-21, she says “Don’t call me Naomi, instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”

But you know what I find interesting? Never again is this name she had given herself to represent her bitterness ever mentioned again. She continued to be Naomi. Indeed, life felt empty after her extreme loss and she was suffering through this tragedy, but it wouldn’t always be this way for her.

There are many examples of names being changed in the Bible. The rest stuck. God gave a new name with a new identity. But when Naomi tried to claim her current bitterness to be a continual state, the name change was refused.

You may think things will never be okay for you, but that is not what God has planned, Sis. Your name change has been denied.

So Naomi continued to be Naomi. Mara, this name of bitterness, was never mentioned again.

Naomi’s dauther-in-law was Ruth. Ruth, although also being a widow, stayed with Naomi to care for her. Ruth was then noticed by Boaz, the rich land owner, and he gave her tremendous favor. Then he married her. And do you know what all of this meant for Naomi? This meant LIFE again. This meant something to live for. Something to find joy in. Something to continue her purpose.

Ruth and Boaz had a baby, making Naomi a grandmother. The woman who had lost everything, now had something of tremendous value again.

Ruth 4: 16-17 “Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.”

Why is it important to know the future generations that would come from this baby boy? Because it all led to Jesus! 29 generations later we have Jesus, the savior and redeemer of the world. Jesus didn’t come from what Naomi had lost. Jesus came from what God would give her after her loss. He would give her a daughter-in-law that refused to leave her. He would give that daughter-in-law a new husband. And he would give them a baby boy. A baby boy Naomi herself would get to raise. A boy that would become a part of the chosen lineage of his Son, Jesus.

God didn’t accept her request to become bitter. Her name change to Mara was denied.

And God has not accepted your request either. Yip, all the good reasons you have to become bitter, grouchy, stressed, depressed, anxious, overwhelmed, negative, lazy, angry, and checked-out, DENIED. God says no. No, that’s not who you will be. That’s not his design for you.

His design for you is good. His plans for you have not been cancelled. Your name remains the same.

You are not the woman who will forever carry this disappointment. You are not the woman who will forever ache with this loss. You are not the woman who is perpetually overwhelmed and stressed. You may be today. Your reality today may be one of absolute upheaval and overturn, but it won’t always be this way.

God says you will walk in purpose again. You will find your joy again. You will be filled with peace again.

Don’t try to change your name here.

You are chosen and blessed. You have been declared a worthy and redeemed masterpiece. And today doesn’t change that. These circumstances you’re walking through will not invade the integrity of God’s great design for you.

God hasn’t cancelled anything.

Maybe you’re dealing with sugar rushes and costume madness. Or maybe you’re dealing with financial disaster. Maybe you’re facing your worst nightmare, or maybe you’re dreaming big dreams that seem unreachable. Each of us need to remember this … It can be crazy today. Not every day is going to be like this. Today, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just be here for it.

You have no idea how God intends for this day of your life to be directly linked to unimaginable goodness. So he needs you to show up for this today. Don’t check out here. Dare to see how today’s crazy will become part of something crazy good through the power of God.

Naomi, a woman who lost her husband and both sons, went on to raise a grandson with such joy and pleasure, and that little boy was set apart to bring us to Jesus. Yes, a woman who was sure life would be nothing but bitter for her, but as crazy as it was to imagine, God denied her name change request and led her to a purpose greater than she could have ever imagined.

Today, God is leading you. Yes, maybe through some crazy, but he’s leading you. Be courageous enough to keep following him.

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