Sunday, December 28, 2008

Puzzling

Santa brought a puzzle to our house for Christmas. Only 500 pieces. A painting of birds on a snowy birdhouse. Nice colors. Fun for the family. (Except Brody, who can't imagine why anyone would want to sit around so long and do just "boring stuff.") We are of the straight edge school. You know, separate the edge pieces from the middle pieces and build the frame. Then work on the rest. I like to find groups of colors that I think will go together and work them outside the frame. And every time that I've got my little pile of sorted pieces, I keep searching for more like-pieces. It just seems that the little pile I have surely cannot be enough to make the picture I want to make. And so I spend time looking for the additional pieces that I'll "need" to complete the picture. But many puzzles later, I've realized that I (almost) always have all the pieces required right in front of me. Looking for more pieces in the bottom of the box is a waste of time. It would be a much better use of time to put together the pieces I do have. But I'm just "sure" that I need something else to complete the picture.

Don't we do that in life? We have what we need right in front of us. And yet we search for what we think we need to complete the picture, rather than using what is at the ready to begin piecing together the images of our life. Sure, sometimes a piece can be elusive. (Iris saved the day with this particular puzzle so that it didn't end up being the 499 piece almost completed puzzle.) But you can't really know for sure if something is missing until you put together what you already have. That's kind of what I'm doing now. Putting together the pieces I have - even feeling certain that at least one piece is missing - to see what picture comes together. God knows what I need. And to keep searching for possible missing pieces doesn't get life living. I need to trust His promises that He will supply my needs. He does and He will.


And my God will meet all your needs according
to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
~Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

When I read this I could'nt help but think about the John Lennon song that has, "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans."

My intention is not to take lightly what you have shared Lara, rather it is to comfort both of us in the absence of "pieces" we don't have. In the same breath I know the pieces before us are extremely powerful, and his love is a mighty river that gets us to where we need and want to be.