for the confused and tied up in knots

Confusion.

Are you confused? About something? Someone? A decision?

Want my take on it?

It's the devil.

He loves to confuse us.

Confusion makes us act like idiots. Changing our minds. Unable to stick with a decision. Getting angry. Giving in to frustration. Focusing on the enormous mountain before us shaking our heads and sobbing because how on earth we can move this large mass of crap that is so clearly blocking our breathtaking view, our great destination, our clear answer, our perfect and pain free solution?

Have you been in this place? If so, I am sorry. This place sucks.

I know. Because I live here.

I lived here.

I heard on the Abiding Together Podcast this week - which is all about Mary, our Mother - and how I love that, because we do not talk about her enough and I know that bothers a lot of people- even some Catholics - which fascinates me - but that is another blog post - or not - and anyway, they spoke about her many titles and shared which one is their favorite. Michelle Benzinger said, "Mary, the Untier of Knots." And then...they spoke about her in such plain, simple language...taking that plastic, perfect yet distant statue image we have of her, and brought her down to earth, into our very today, right into our messy homes...this moment...as a real, beautiful, loving Mother.

And this, they said...and I cannot get the image out of my mind...

you know how our kids bring us their tangled things? Their knotted shoe laces? Their twisted up slinky? Their yo yo string in knots? Imagine Mary...our Mother...sitting criss cross...with all of our knots before her....and she patiently and carefully untangles them...just as we do for our children...just as a good mother does.

Is it just me, or is this the most lovely thing to imagine? Mary, on our floor.....and something about the criss cross...the realness....the simplicity...the gentleness that leaves no room for confusion and only makes perfect sense.

Because this does makes such perfect sense, doesn't it? Our knots - our confusion - they are obstacles that keep us from Jesus. They are the mountain of crap. They are the ties to confusion.

So I started doing this.

I started to take my knots to Mary.

I literally picture a rope of knots.

And then, I close my eyes, and I see her...not the plastic statue...not the stone image....but the Woman...with a Mother's heart...sitting criss cross on the living room floor surrounded by mess and crumbs and all sorts of questionable things that have been smeared on the falling to pieces couch...taking one knot at a time into her hands, pulling it apart, unraveling the chaos, placing everything back in order, tying me to her Son.