It's a puzzle to us... to Him, it's the full picture...
I think we all have a plan for how our lives are going to turn out. At least, I know I did. And maybe you didn't have a detailed plan, but I bet you had a general idea. If anything, I'm sure you thought about what you hoped it would be like. That's the beauty, and sometimes detriment, of being a human. We have the ability to think forward, to imagine, and to create. But sometimes we don't leave much room for God's plans to work themselves in because, well, we don't know the full picture.
Aaron and I started putting puzzles together. I figured if we were going to spend our time in the evenings sitting in front of the TV, we might as well exercise our brains somewhat. I have to say that puzzles will do it. You spend time searching for just the right piece only to pick up the wrong one about 20 times. Half an hour later, after some frustration has built, the right piece makes its way into your hand, and it's amazing how getting one little piece in place is rewarding. It's the only thing that keeps you going, truth be told. And these puzzles, while not too large, end up taking hours worth of diligent, persistent work before they're complete. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Life itself, I've learned, is one big puzzle.
The other night we completed a puzzle, and I decided to take a picture. A picture of a puzzle with a picture on it. It wasn't anything fancy, but I had such a sense of accomplishment that 500 pieces had been successfully put into place to make something complete, that I wanted to document the hard work. Well, about 5 seconds into the attempted picture taking, the puzzle slid down the board and began to break apart. I'm not going to lie, my first inclination was not one of joy or happiness. I would love to be one of those free spirited individuals who has no buttons and limits that stretch for miles, but I'm not. And so I did my best to try and laugh off my frustration thinking that maybe it would make me feel better. I took a deep breath and thought, "It's okay. You've already put it together once, so you know where all of the pieces go."
I think this is pretty well life, isn't it? Maybe you see the picture, or the picture you had planned, and you work so hard to try and put the pieces together. You can do it yourself, you think. And with each piece you find relief. You think, "Whew, I'm glad I got that one in. One less to worry about." The puzzle starts to make sense, or at least you've done your best to try and make sense of it, and you feel accomplished. Maybe you think, "Hey, I'm getting somewhere. This is progressing as expected." The next thing you know the pieces are falling apart, and you're left standing frustrated, disappointed, and discouraged.
But God knows your puzzle. Of course, to Him, it's simply the whole picture. To you, it's a bunch of pieces right now. But He designed it out for you. Each piece, as well as its specific place, intended for you. And because He has seen the whole picture, because He is the one who put it together in the first place, it's really no challenge for Him to complete it. I know you're probably standing there looking at all of the pieces and wondering what to do with them, but God isn't wondering. It isn't throwing Him for a loop. He wasn't caught off guard, and He isn't worried. He can always put the pieces back together again no matter how many times they might fall apart.
I've often found that the pieces pull me closer to God. I've been tempted to sometimes think that if I can complete the picture, that'll do the trick. But it is in the pieces that I find His mercy and compassion. And as I hold each one up to Him, He takes it and puts it where it goes. Sometimes it's where I was hoping, and sometimes it's not. In fact, He might put a piece down for a bit and wait to place it at a later time. But I know that when God puts things together, it's always right. It just takes time. Time and diligence and persistence. And if we hang in there, we'll see the full picture. Each piece has it's place, and it'll make sense in the end.
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity." - 1 Corinthians 13:12
Aaron and I started putting puzzles together. I figured if we were going to spend our time in the evenings sitting in front of the TV, we might as well exercise our brains somewhat. I have to say that puzzles will do it. You spend time searching for just the right piece only to pick up the wrong one about 20 times. Half an hour later, after some frustration has built, the right piece makes its way into your hand, and it's amazing how getting one little piece in place is rewarding. It's the only thing that keeps you going, truth be told. And these puzzles, while not too large, end up taking hours worth of diligent, persistent work before they're complete. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Life itself, I've learned, is one big puzzle.
The other night we completed a puzzle, and I decided to take a picture. A picture of a puzzle with a picture on it. It wasn't anything fancy, but I had such a sense of accomplishment that 500 pieces had been successfully put into place to make something complete, that I wanted to document the hard work. Well, about 5 seconds into the attempted picture taking, the puzzle slid down the board and began to break apart. I'm not going to lie, my first inclination was not one of joy or happiness. I would love to be one of those free spirited individuals who has no buttons and limits that stretch for miles, but I'm not. And so I did my best to try and laugh off my frustration thinking that maybe it would make me feel better. I took a deep breath and thought, "It's okay. You've already put it together once, so you know where all of the pieces go."
I think this is pretty well life, isn't it? Maybe you see the picture, or the picture you had planned, and you work so hard to try and put the pieces together. You can do it yourself, you think. And with each piece you find relief. You think, "Whew, I'm glad I got that one in. One less to worry about." The puzzle starts to make sense, or at least you've done your best to try and make sense of it, and you feel accomplished. Maybe you think, "Hey, I'm getting somewhere. This is progressing as expected." The next thing you know the pieces are falling apart, and you're left standing frustrated, disappointed, and discouraged.
But God knows your puzzle. Of course, to Him, it's simply the whole picture. To you, it's a bunch of pieces right now. But He designed it out for you. Each piece, as well as its specific place, intended for you. And because He has seen the whole picture, because He is the one who put it together in the first place, it's really no challenge for Him to complete it. I know you're probably standing there looking at all of the pieces and wondering what to do with them, but God isn't wondering. It isn't throwing Him for a loop. He wasn't caught off guard, and He isn't worried. He can always put the pieces back together again no matter how many times they might fall apart.
I've often found that the pieces pull me closer to God. I've been tempted to sometimes think that if I can complete the picture, that'll do the trick. But it is in the pieces that I find His mercy and compassion. And as I hold each one up to Him, He takes it and puts it where it goes. Sometimes it's where I was hoping, and sometimes it's not. In fact, He might put a piece down for a bit and wait to place it at a later time. But I know that when God puts things together, it's always right. It just takes time. Time and diligence and persistence. And if we hang in there, we'll see the full picture. Each piece has it's place, and it'll make sense in the end.
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity." - 1 Corinthians 13:12
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this! I've struggled most of my life because my puzzle pieces didn't seem like the right ones....they weren't forming the picture I thought they should. But they were forming the picture He has in mind. And as I'm learning to not only accept that truth, but joyfully anticipate His picture is far more beautiful than my own, my whole outlook on life is changing. Thank you for sharing this. Such a beautiful way of seeing how He works in us.