Dirt

Dirt. Flaws. Did you know that flawed people are actually beautiful, not ugly? It's 'cause they've come through the flaws, pushed through the mistakes, and if they actually learned something, have developed into something marvelous. The mistakes are there to add a sweep of grace. Bet you don't often stop to think about the beautiful dirt, the perfect messes, the hatred turned love. I'll bet you even shun the dirt and block it from thought along with the rest of the world. You're probably completely obsessed with staying clean, maintaining order and perfection, running as fast as you can away from the grime and filth and general suckiness of falling into turmoil.
Guess what? Don't be afraid to fall because the only way you'll find light is if you step at least partways into the darkness. True, some people might never make it out again, but if you do find your way back, keep the fire burning and use it to keep others warm.
Think for a moment. Housemoms: They spend every waking hour sacrificing themselves for their kids. They feed them, change them, clean up after them, train them and equip them for survival as adults, nurture them... Housemoms. Not perfect, but perfectly flawed. They most definitely make the world a warmer place.
Dents in a well-driven vehicle. Perhaps this car is owned by a single girl who travels two hours away from home twice a month to try to bring hope to her dying grandmother. She knows she can't offer much, but it is precisely this acknowledgement of a flaw that keeps her going. Beautifully flawed.
Scabs and scars on the hands of the dad who provides for his family day after day, only stopping to eat, to sleep, and to spend a few hours of quality time with the ones he loves. Flawed, but rewarding.
The businessman who juggles more clients in a day than sanity allows, even through a blatant headache, meeting demands almost impossible to fulfill, yet striving to keep the business alive. Flawed.
The mud gathered up around the rubber boots of the little boy running out in the rain to fetch the mail. Showing up on the doorstep with a grin on his face and giving his mother reason to first stare in shock at her clean floor dirtied up, then laugh. Lack of dirt brings lack of character.
The rough draft of a novel. Without roughness, we can't scrape through and polish it and find the beauty inside. Without the flaws, we can't wring out the message.
Dirt makes patterns. Art. It can touch lives. We relate to those who have gone through similar circumstances. We gain hope when we see how far they've come.
As human beings, we love imperfectly. But I think that's the point. That even though we're imperfect and we know it, that doesn't stop us from loving. We still love and we care and we learn from the mistakes of our past.
We learn to see the flaws, recognize them, and without hesitation, remove them. We ask God, our friends, even our enemies, for help.
We are beautifully flawed. To have a flaw does not mean we're utterly weak and helpless. It just means we're that much closer to being strong.
Flaws are okay.
We're okay.
Dirt is necessary.