 A field of mixed flowers. The beach with toys and crabs. A crowd of people. Sometimes the puzzle pieces we get stuck with are MONTONOUS. They aren't hard or easy. They are just a lot of the same pieces, over and over again.
Life sometimes seems like that. Our pieces are MONTONOUS. The kids are sick again. The car broke down again. There isn't enough money for vacation again. At least hard pieces drive us to God in our distress. At least easy pieces are enjoyable. But when "every" life piece God gives us is the same, it's easy to grow bored and lose our focus on Christ. It is in the mundane that we are called to look up -- out of the diapers and the paperwork and the vacuuming -- and fix our gaze on our Savior. He knew and did the need-to-do parts of life. And He realized that those boring parts of life prepare us for the hard and the easy parts. In the mundane we have the opportunity to seek Him, grow in faithfulness, and live as the new creatures He has made us to be.  A hot air balloon. The barn. A vase of tulips or a basket of apples. Sometimes the puzzle pieces we get stuck with are EASY. Everything flies together. 1. 2. 3. No delays, no hiccups. It is puzzling at its very finest.
Life sometimes seems like that. Our pieces are EASY. Health. Happiness. A pay raise at work after a wonderful vacation. A new baby on the way. When "every" life piece God gives us is perfect, it's a simple thing to take it for granted, to want even more, or use it all selfishly. It takes intentional work to steward our gifts wisely, consciously pursue contentment, and thank God for those blessings He has inserted into our lives. And the promises is that when we do these things -- not that our blessings will never be taken away, but that we will glorify our God and live in the joy of His presence (Psalm 16:11). The sky. The ocean. A starscape or a forest. Sometimes the puzzle pieces we get stuck with are HARD. Nothing seems to go together. There are no clues to use for fast-tracking our part of the puzzle. It is a painstaking exercise in what seems like futility. Life sometimes seems like that. Our pieces are HARD. Death. Disease. Strained relationships. And strained backs and necks and hamstrings. When "every" life piece God gives us is the same black color, it's frustrating, confusing, crushing, and so many other "ings". It's easy to forget that God has the picture and right now He is asking us to build the starscape. It will be painful. We may not understand. But God's promise is that if we do things His way -- it will be beautiful. It will be valuable. It will be worthwhile (Romans 8:18).   Life is like a puzzle, a puzzle done without the benefit of a picture. But you know what is interesting: The picture really only helps if you are doing the puzzle alone. If you are doing a puzzle as a group, where I put together the horse, you put together the flowerbed, and he puts together the tree, we don't need the picture. In fact, we do our best work when each of us focuses on our own section instead of meddling with someone else's.
In life only God gets the full picture (as much as some of us may want to borrow His :0). And this is a good thing, because each one of us has our own pieces we are supposed to be focusing on -- our unique ways to support Christ's kingdom. We are not building alone, each of us is busy working our own part of God's kingdom -- His puzzle. So have a happy 2024 -- another year of building God's puzzle in our lives and encouraging others as they do the same. |
The AuthorCome with me as we grow in fellowship with each other and our Savior to whom belongs the Amazing Escape from sin and death and the Amazing Journey into glorious life. Archives
October 2024
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