It got me thinking about puzzles. My kids love puzzles, but they approach them VERY differently. Jack is the logical one. He turns all of the pieces over (this may seem obvious, but wait until I explain his brother's methods!), separates the edges and corners, then sorts the remaining pieces by color before even starting the puzzle. He begins working from the outside-in, glancing at the puzzle's photo often as he methodically matches up the pieces.
Luke, on the other hand, dumps the pieces into a random pile. He hardly even turns them over let alone sorts them! His eyes scan the haphazard heap and he grabs two pieces that seem to match by either their puzzle-y edges or their colors and then puts them together. Click! They fit! He continues on this way, barely looking at the puzzle photo, building the overall picture from the inside-out! My husband and I really don't even understand his thinking (our brains work more like Jack's) and can't fathom how Luke sees the connections between the pieces the way that he does. But this crazy method works for him. ;)
Either way... the end result is the same: the puzzle is completed.
But what if you finished your puzzle and found that one, lone piece was missing?!! What if you spend hours and HOURS sorting and scanning and comparing and working to finish this multi-hundred-piece puzzle only to find that one piece wasn't there?!!! It wouldn't matter that the puzzle was "ALMOST" finished - it's still missing a piece!!!
That is your life without God. Unfinished... incomplete... really, kind-of a waste of time, actually! Because all of that working and and living and trying is fruitless if you don't include God in your life! Life is hard enough; you need ALL the pieces!
Furthermore, just like the HUGE differences between the ways that Jack and Luke each complete a puzzle, your life journey is going to be unique. I started this blog because I was sure that there had to be other people out there who were floundering and frustrated with not finding God in the "ordinary" places... in church, in private school, etc. My methods and experiences to placing that final piece into place (CLICK!) were along a twisty, windy road with many, MANY dead ends. I'm just grateful that God is patient... and never gives up on one of his children. :)
If you can't see the whole picture, then perhaps you are missing a crucial piece to your life puzzle. God is the final piece! And with God, your life-puzzle becomes more than just a jumble of mismatched pieces... your life becomes a MASTERPIECE.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Romans 8:28 (NLT)
------- Additional Note -------
If you've read Nicole's original post and then mine, you still don't have all the pieces... because my friend Cindi wrote a follow-up to this about trying to do things your own way withOUT God and how the pieces just don't match up. Be SURE to read on HERE NEXT! It's a fabulous conclusion to this idea!
6 comments:
Funny you should quote Romans 8:28 today. Two days ago I happened across "Romans 8:28" but couldn't guess what the words were, nor what it meant where it was, nor if it was something I should take to heart. Now that it's here again, you've got to say it's synchronicity. *off to ponder the meaning of life*
So excited you linked to me! And this was a beautiful post. I love your last line about "your life becomes a masterpiece".
Great post Mags. Life is definitely a puzzle. (LoL) Put together one piece at a time. (Hey, maybe that should be my next blog post.) LoL.
Ok, it will be so don't jack the title. (LoL)
Isn't it the neatest thing how siblings come from the same mother and father, and still be so different in the way they handle things.
Your sons sound so adorable. It's like that in my family. Each of my four siblings and I think differently, but everything works out in the end. As you said, what matters is that the puzzle is finished. :D
Post a Comment