This week has been a flurry of preparation. I’ve read TSA requirements to help my son sort out what to pack and what not to pack for his overseas trip. I've also made a few small changes of my own, like installing beta software on my phone to preview what’s coming next, and buying a countertop ice maker because it’s stupidly hot and cold drinks matter.

Each of these small things is a kind of preparation. Some practical, some curious, and some playful. But they each ask the same question: What are we making room for?

It’s a question we’ve been sitting with in our house this week. Packing for his trip has required my son to name what matters and what doesn’t. With a limit of only two carry-on bags, he's had to let go of what’s unnecessary. He's also had to make space for some new items he will need there. It's a clear metaphor for our spiritual life, don't you think? Sometimes growth means clearing the clutter, softening the pace, or letting grace re-enter the spaces we’ve tried to fill with control, urgency, or certainty. Other times it's embracing the new and unexpected, or springing for some comfort.

I was curious and eager to try the new phone features and accepted some risk when I installed the beta. It’s experimental, unfinished, and occasionally glitchy, but it offers a glimpse of what’s coming. And honestly? That’s how life often feels. Most of the time, we’re living in some version of ‘beta,' testing, tweaking, and figuring life out as we go.

We’re all works in progress. There’s no final version of you (or me) to arrive at, no perfectly packed bag, no flawless plan. But there is grace in the glitches, in the questions, in the becoming.

Whether we’re sending our kids across oceans, preparing for change, or just clearing space for something refreshing, we don’t have to get it all right. God doesn’t wait for the polished version. Grace meets us in the in-between; guiding, beckoning, and inviting.

My wish for you this week, Reader, is to let go of what weighs you down, carry what matters, and trust that what you need for the road ahead will meet you on the way even if it’s glitchy or uncertain. When you feel unprepared, remember that you are already deeply and profoundly loved with all your beautiful flaws, foibles, beauty, and strengths. And that is more than enough. That's the fiLLLed life.

Live a fiLLLed life, Melissa ​

P.S. I may have an unreasonable excitement for perfectly chewable ice.