My mom likes to put challenging 1,000 piece puzzles together. She had one with old-fashioned tea cups where almost every single cup had gold rims and small blue and pink flowers. Another one was a solid picture of sprinkled and frosted doughnuts which, quite honestly, just made me hungry. Her most recent puzzle is a football stadium packed with fans (Are you kidding me?). When she dumps a box out I can’t help but think it will never come together, because it’s just a jumbled mess that doesn’t look like anything promising. And yet every time, little by little, a picture begins to form. It doesn’t happen overnight and mom has to keep working at it, but each time the final picture is simply quite amazing.
Unfortunately, sometimes life can be a complicated puzzle. It just seems like a bunch of events that produce nothing but problems and chaos. But take heart, God is working in your life right now to bring it all together. From Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” God had you on His radar for a long time. Psalm 139:16-17, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me God! They cannot be numbered!” Grab ahold of this thought-you are always on God’s mind. He’s looking at all the seemingly impossible parts of your life and He’s fitting them together to create something beautiful. So stay steadfast and keep watching, because your life is a work of art in the Master’s hands.
Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq are a few places listed on my friend’s resume. TJ’s a colonel in the United States Army and has also served her country faithfully during Desert Storm and at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Her resume is littered with impressive honors, strong leadership, and passionate pursuits. There aren’t many challenges that will intimidate a soldier of her standing but one duty still makes her nervous: briefing a general. There’s something about all those stars on his uniform that gives her pause. Even with rigorous research, scrutiny of information, and extensively rehearsing the speech, her heart still races when she approaches the general’s office. So she leans in. Psalm 86:7, “In the day of trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.” Even a strong colonel needs the support of an Almighty God.
None of us like to be kept waiting. We are easily frustrated by long check out lines, slow traffic patterns, and even the popcorn we just put in the microwave seems to takes too long. But there’s a group of people who know a little something about waiting: American farmers. They prepare the land, sow the seed, irrigate, fertilize, and then patiently wait. I know a few farmers and I’ve never seen one try to make it rain, (but I would absolutely video tape it if they did). Farmers know what to do to get good results: work hard every day, put in a FULL day, use techniques to ensure success, then step back and wait for the harvest. From Galatians 6:9, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Let’s face it, farmers know how to wait.
For my mom’s 60th birthday, I wanted to do something really special for her so I decided to sew her a quilt. There was only one small glitch in my lofty plan: I didn’t know how to sew. Luckily, I knew someone who did. The Family and Consumer Science Teacher (Home Ec to me), was an expert. She opened her classroom for sewing nights and patiently taught me each step. Quilters seem to have their own foreign language. When I heard ‘Stitch in the ditch” I thought it was a reference to where I should throw the pitiful-looking thing I was making. My early work was not impressive! Sometimes I’d look at those frayed squares and crooked stitches and doubt that it was going to develop into something worth making. The waiting for a completed project seemed endless. Yet surprisingly, little by little, something quite lovely began to take shape. And finally, the completed work became a beautiful and treasured gift.
I’m an Ohio State Buckeye fan, (say it with me now “O-H-I-O”). When you’re a Buckeye fan, your expectations stay high. Each game we get to see a strategic plan unfolding, observe an energy radiating from players on the field, and witness incredible displays of athleticism, (“Did you see that catch?”). I can’t help but think about the 2011 game against Wisconsin that looked like OSU was letting a win slip away. His team down 26-29, a minute and 10 seconds left on the clock, quarterback Braxton Miller winks at his coach and says, “We’re all right.” He was anticipating that something good was about to happen. And it did! Miller stepped onto the field and with 20 seconds left on the clock, threw a 40 yard touchdown pass to win the game.
I’m a Cleveland Browns fan. On most Sunday afternoons my tv will be tuned into the game. But sometimes when the game gets frustrating, a nap sounds like a good alternative option. But my mom and niece Dawn are diehard fans. Here’s proof: One year they got tickets to go to a Steelers vs. Browns game, at Heinz Field. It was one of those Sunday afternoons when the snow is falling relentlessly in a blizzard-type atmosphere and anyone even thinking of going to a game should have their head examined. Yet Dawn and mom bundled up and covered all those layers with Brown’s coats, hats, and scarves. As they boarded the downtown Pittsburg bus the place was packed with Steeler fans. And every single one went silent when they saw the audacity of two orange and brown-dressed fans. (Pause for awkward silence…) Then finally the words, “Brown’s fans sit in the back.” Can anyone relate to this? Are you the fan that will cheer for your team even if the odds are stacked against you?
When Lake Erie gets waves big enough to surf, look for me in the biggest one. Surfing is fast, exciting, and intense. It takes a lot of practice to become a skilled surfer. You must learn the proper technique of standing, positioning yourself on the board, and finding the right wave. There’s even a correct way to fall! The experts describe in detail how to fall, and give specific instructions about getting back up again. It’s not surprising that in surfing it is predicted that you will fall a few times, and probably many times. But mainly, I like that it’s expected you will get back up.
I recently went on a long train ride in Arizona. We looked at rocky canyons, saguaro cactus, and valleys with slow moving streams. One curve while traversing a canyon took us through a dark, winding tunnel. It was a long one and we couldn’t help but wonder if we’d ever get to the other side. And then we saw a ray of light peeking through the darkness, and as we moved forward it got brighter and brighter, until the light burst through and overtook the darkness. In our lives, we sometimes come across those black tunnels, times when we wonder if we’ll ever be happy again, or free from worry, or from pain and sickness.
I like to watch the NCAA basketball tournament. But sometimes I’m busy when a game I really want to see is on. When that happens, I record the game so I can watch it later. I try to avoid hearing who won the game before I watch it, but today I saw a news clip that let me know the winning team. Knowing the ending really changed my reactions during the game. When you know the finale, you can relax during the tense times. Even when it seems all is lost, you can know for a fact that it is all going to come out perfect in the end. This makes me think of Good Friday. I can’t imagine how the disciples felt when it was happening in real time, but here’s the good news for us: we know the ending! Friday had to be a dark, frightening time for the disciples, but we now know Sunday is coming. And Sunday changes everything!
The rain is falling softly outside my window today. It heralds in the beginning of a new season. There’s something about the coming of spring that produces abundant hope. Hope for a new beginning, a fresh start, or a change in circumstance. God gets credit for the seasons, and for the hope that stirs our hearts. Genesis 1:14 , “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years…'”