Puzzle Pieces

For as long as I can remember, God has used a puzzle box lid to teach me more than I could ever write in this blog. I remember putting puzzles together when I was younger and I always started by turning over all of the pieces on the front side. Then I would start by putting the corners in places. Next I would start trying to match pieces up by looking at the box lid. Slowly using the lid, the pieces would start to come together. It took focus though to stay on task and not get half way through the puzzle and want to quit and moving on to something else. Ever found one of those pieces that you were just sure fit into a certain spot? The odd shaped pieces were always tricky. I'd find a piece that I was sure fit somewhere and I would lovingly make it fit where I wanted to. Sometimes it didn't even matter if the color matched or not, when I was ready to be done the piece was going where I wanted it to.

Life can be like a puzzle sometimes. We have all had pieces that we wanted to fit into a certain spot, regardless of whether they worked there or not. We've had pieces that were odd shaped and only fit in one place(because after all that's how the puzzle maker planned it), but we get in a hurry and rush to guess what corner it matches. Those odd shaped days usually leave us going, umm...God help please or can you just tell me where this fits in your plan? Personally I've asked Him that last question more than once. Some how I think I can move on and keep going as long as I know how it fits. Honestly ask yourself a question, if you could see the box lid, would you really want to know? The truth that God is the only one that has our box lid keeps us leaning on Him. If we knew where we were headed, we would think we could do it on our own. I mean after all, when we think we know what's next we keep walking until we find the hole called distraction.

I can think of two vivid moments where I felt like the pieces were all jumbled up in my puzzle. I couldn't see how the pieces before me were ever going to come together to look like the masterpiece that God said was on the box. All of those odd-shaped pieces didn't fit where they looked like they belonged and the more I tried to act like I knew where the pieces went the more I realized I was clueless. When we get to the point where we finally give up, and realize this isn't how it is supposed to go, that's when God can work. As long as we have control of the pieces, He can't do anything. When we take those pieces and give back to Him(after all they are His anyways), and wait on His timing. That's another part where we mess up...because His timing and our timing is SO not the same. My average seems to be about two years, before I can start to look back and see how He put these pieces together. The only way to see how some of those odd shaped ones are going to fall into place, is to let Him do it.

I've realized only recently that I'm in another one of those odd shaped puzzle piece moments. I can look and see parts of me(aka puzzle pieces), but I can't see how they are all going to connect and fit together. Thankfully I have gotten the message finally, it's not my job to figure it out. The more we analyze the pieces and attempt to make them fit, the more frustrated and stressed we become. The more I step away from the puzzle, I realize His fitting the pieces to fit His plan not mine.

So what pieces are you holding on to and trying to make them fit? You can squeeze them in and push them in place, but it won't be a good fit unless you let Him show you where that piece belongs. He has a plan for each piece and together it makes a masterpiece that only He could design.

One word of caution(lesson learned the hard way)...When you start letting Him put the pieces in place and control is totally His, you will have an amazing sense of peace, perspective, and purpose. However, look out...because well meaning people will try to tell you where your pieces fit. Most of the time they have in mind what your box lid looks like and they think they can "help" you by showing you where everything goes. God has a plan just for you that only you can do. He has you where He wants you or He would move you, trust me(even if you are still trying to figure out how this piece fits into that puzzle ;-))

Until next time
~Melissa