I am trying to come to grips with my living room being in a state of utter chaos. Everything is all out of sorts. The majority of the furniture has been pushed together in the middle of the room.  The other odds and ends are scattered throughout making it extremely challenging to navigate a course to the bathroom. My wife and I are in the midst of painting the interior of our house.

I have to admit I dont do well with process. Its hard for me to picture the finished project when all I see is blue painters tape and the first coat of paint on the walls. My eyes almost instantly go towards the spots that need touching-up or the areas where I got paint on the ceiling. Even though I know that eventually everything will be put back in its place, the “in between” stage is unsettling for me.

Maybe this is the reason why many of the tasks on my honey do list remain unchecked. In order to have a finished project one has to be okay with the mess in the middle. Only when we admit our messiness will God be able to work on our hearts. When it comes to the transformation you will see through your One Word, there needs to be a way for you to deal with your unfinishedness.

Yes, unfinished means being incomplete and imperfect but it also entails movement because you have come to grips with being in process. The restoration project of your hearts will expose your flaws, rough edges and touch-up spots. However, by developing measuring sticks to measure growth you will be able to notice how the heart of Christ is beginning to take shape in your life.

Dealing with process comes down to where you place your sights. Do your eyes zero in on the imperfections causing you to be riddled with feelings of guilt and defeat? Or does your gaze go in the direction of your Creator who began a good work in you, is changing you and loves you in the midst of your unfinishedness? As the month of March comes to a close, may the words of Hebrews 12:2 bring you comfort: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.

• How are you currently dealing with being a work in progress? Are you allowing your unfinishedness to hinder your growth or spur you on towards transformation?

• How has developing measuring sticks enabled you to see the growth that has taken place through your One Word up to this point?

Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011.  If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!