Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Feeling Puzzled



I use to love being in the 50 piece puzzle, I thought I fit so well.  I was so comfortable. All of the other pieces knew me, and I could just blend in.  I also knew how to stand out, and felt in my heart that the little puzzle needed me to be complete. This little puzzle of 50 was safe. 

One day I started to feel like my piece of the puzzle didn’t seem to feel right anymore. I was starting to change my shape a bit, and the other pieces were a little frustrated with me.  The other pieces seemed to think that I would always want to be in the box of 50, it was good, it was stable, I should just keep the rest of the puzzle happy.  The other pieces told me if I am not happy and shiny the whole puzzle would fall apart!

I tried for a long time to continue to do my part and be a part of this puzzle.  I started to hurt on the inside because I wasn’t allowed to grow on the outside.  I wanted to change, but what would this puzzle do without me, who would I be if not this puzzle piece?  This puzzle needed me! 

Then one day as my part of the picture started to get really dark I cried.  I cried out to the keeper of the puzzle, the one that had first put me in this little puzzle to grow, the maker of the puzzle that knew every piece and why it was there.

Jeremiah 33:3
‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know’ (NIV)

 I knew he was just on the side of the room, waiting for me to call out. It was strange, I called out and a light came on in the room! The light of the Holy Spirit was right there waiting for me to call, God was right there with me! I realized that he is the creator of the puzzle, not me.  He knew I had to let go of the little picture I controlled and trust him with a far more amazing puzzle.  He was there right when I called out.

Romans 12:2 
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will." (NIV)

He picked me up and held me up to the light.  He knew that I needed to be put in a much bigger puzzle, that I was ready to change my shape.  He knew that I had some parts that needed to be glued back together, and some that needed to be removed.  He knew that there were pieces of me that I couldn’t let go of, pieces that hurt, and pieces I felt bad for having, he knew what to do with those pieces too.
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

This new puzzle has so many more pieces and colors. In this new puzzle I don’t always “fit” so well, but if I tell the other pieces that "I am afraid", " I will never fit." they shift a little to help me, they show me that I do belong to the big picture. They have taught me that I don't always have to be on the edge holding it together, I can let them surround me.

I want to be in this much more complex puzzle, I want to study the Bible as the truth.  The directions to this puzzle are in the pages. I want to let the puzzle maker love me, even when I don’t know how to love myself. I want to let others know that this puzzle is life changing!

This new puzzle is so much easier to see, as it is in a room with the light flowing into it.  The reflection of the light makes this puzzle so much easier for others to see too.  There is so much room left in this puzzle and the number on the box isn’t just 50. This puzzle seems far more complicated but the picture it is creating, and the finished product are going to be worth more than we can imagine.


I know I won’t always “fit” exactly where I think I should, but I belong in this puzzle. There is so much light on this puzzle and every day new pieces are being added to the puzzle.  This puzzle is where I am challenged to not “fit” so comfortably, to let God change me, to continue to grow, and work with all of the other pieces. To make room and shine so others come to the creator of the puzzle. God will not force you to fit into this puzzle but he will welcome you in as soon as you cry out. 

I know that when the puzzle is ready it will be and amazing day! There will be a room for every piece of this puzzle!
John 14:2
"'My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?'" (NIV)





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