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I could be infected by the Pinterest virus in a nanosecond—and I know it. The first time I saw the embarrassment of visual riches there, I felt my heart beat a little faster. That kitchen! Those bookcases! Floral designs! Gorgeous fabrics! One visit felt like inhabiting a Pottery Barn on steroids. While some might be able to pin in moderation, I fear I couldn’t stop with just a few curated collections. This kind of eye candy would quickly get out of hand with me. (As in, “Excuse me, officer—I was just assembling the components of my ideal, imaginary living room while commuting.”) While your pinning might represent a benign hobby, mine would more clearly resemble a demanding addiction.

Too much of a good thing isn’t good for anyone, right? And who really hangs a chandelier in their closet, or has a rustic, rolling ladder installed in their pantry to reach the top shelf? Real life is not so exquisitely pinnable. Most of us live in semiorganized chaos, not in stunning vignettes. Real life is messy. It just is. And even if we could manage to make our lives resemble the pictures on Pinterest, we couldn’t keep them that way for long.

I fight the longing for perfection every day. God, in his goodness, keeps me humble by not allowing me to come even close to it. My life contains messes I’d rather not display. Fears and anxieties I’d like to stack out on the curb for heavy trash day. Confusion and sadness that I’d just as soon throw a tarp over and ignore. Pin this? I don’t think so.

God sees my heart. It’s rarely stunning, and it’s seldom neat. But it’s all his. And every messy, unwanted bit I’d like to hide he gently uncovers and begins to expose, set right, reorder, and rearrange. One day it will be lovely. He’s promised:

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. . . . And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.”

1 John 3:1-3, MSG