23 Apr Our simple minds.
Posted at 02:12h
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by Emily Lorin
Today at work I watched a seven year old little boy put together an Arthur puzzle. At first he began placing together the pieces of the puzzle that he automatically saw fit together. The ones that you notice right away. Then he began to guess and check. He would look at the shape of a puzzle piece and begin picking up any others that looked like they might fit. I quickly noted that this could take some time so I asked him if he thought it would be a good idea to separate the border pieces from the inside pieces…he agreed. So we separated the pieces and he went back to work. Being the good paraprofessional that I try to be, I attempted to engage him in conversation. Eventually he stopped what he was doing, looked at me, and said “You know it’s really hard to talk and do this too.” Ok…so I stopped chatting and watched with high interest. He eventually got the border and moved in closer to the center. I began to pick up on what he was thinking…He started with the snake on the tree. He would look for that one piece that would fit with the other snake piece, completely disregarding that it did have a part of the snake of it and could go right to the other side. Instead, he worked piece by piece. He did eventually finish the puzzle, but it wasn’t quick or without a little struggle.
I couldn’t help but think that that is just how we are with God. We see that one piece of our lives that we must get to fit with the other one. We look at our puzzle and see that we need the head to fit with the tail…but when we find the body out to the side we put it down and keep searching for the tail. While God is sitting right next to us saying…”It would be a lot easier if you just put this piece here and did this.” But no. Do we listen? Sometimes I’d say we do…or maybe I should say sometimes I do. Other times you get to the end and are acutely aware that there must have been an easier way to get there. We completely disregard the whole picture on the puzzle, focusing in on that one piece will drive us crazy. I say us, but I mean I. I am guilty of this. Sometimes I lose track of the bigger picture. And sometimes I say “God, you know it’s really hard to focus on this while you’re talking to me.” What? Am I nuts? The answer is yes, but fortunately I have been blessed beyond my wildest imagination and God continuously whispers his sweet spirit and guidance in my ear, helping me to see the whole body of the snake. He is patient for me to listen and heed his advice. How incredible is that!!? In the past couple of weeks between church, my bible study, and…well my other bible study, I have really been shown how deep and wide and long and high and strong is his love for me. And oh, how undeserving am I. I have never been more thankful for this than right now. I am struggling with this incredibly transitional phase of my life, but I take great comfort in knowing that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Wow. It’s like a warm blanket to my soul.
One of my fears in life is that I am not good enough. Not good enough to make things happen. Not good enough to make a relationship work, etc. Fortunately, regardless of whether I am or not…I don’t have to be. He lives in me. And Him in me…I can be more than good enough for anything, because His love is never gone. Wow.
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