Puzzling
Well- For some reason, I can't upload pictures today. The one I was trying to include was of my nephew when he was first born. He was 3 lbs 10 oz and has Down's Syndrome. When Jerimy was born, there were a lot of WHY's being thrown around. Why was he small? Why wasn't he thriving in utero? Why did he have Down's Syndrome? We never looked back. We dealt with the hand God had given us, and the answer to ALL of those questions is easily answered the moment you meet Jerimy, who is now a happy and healthy 13 year old boy. He brings joy. He smiles. He is affectionate. He is non-judgemental. His heart is pure and he injects something into our family no 'normal' child could. His function is clear.
As we go through life, we wonder how all of the fragmented pieces of pain and experience fit into the greater plan. I analyze what my life has been and I think of a puzzle. If you have ever worked a puzzle, you know that you always start with the border (at least I do in my little 'Monkish' way). In doing so, you provide yourself with a border...a reference point for where all of the other pieces will go. It gives you an idea of color scheme, size, and an idea of what you have to work with. I see my early church life as being this border. I have not been silent about how I feel about my old church family, and I am glad I have moved on, but they provided me with the basics. They gave me the frame to my puzzle. I knew about Jesus, and religion and how a church functions on a basic level
As I have lived through teenaged angst, a wild college period, some bad choices, I often wondered how those things all fit into this puzzle. By themselves, they didn't make sense. They just seemed like random puzzle pieces laying on the table. They didn't match any of the colors I found in the border....perhaps they were center pieces.
As I'm aging and working to put this puzzle all together, I see how they are connected to the pieces I am putting in now. The more pieces that go in, the more colorful the finished work becomes. I also see that there are no random pieces. They ALL belong. The ugly brown ones compliment the more beautiful pieces. They are there for a reason. Perhaps they provide depth to a more primary section. Perhaps the large section of 'black' that seemed all wrong for this puzzle now makes sense when it is snapped into place. Some of those earlier pieces attach a larger section to the border. All of it is connected; directly or indirectly. It is all part of me and who I am.
As the puzzle become more complete, it also becomes easier. I am more able to see where the pieces go because there aren't as many options for their placement. They fit easier. As I look and analyze and work it all together, it goes faster. When I ask a friend to help, that friend may show me ways to fit things together that I may not have seen by myself. I have learned the benefit of help. The idea of the finished work seem more obvious, because now I can see the canvas of color...the contrasting lights and darks...and I know, that with the guiding hand of God, when that last piece locks into place, the finished work will be glorious!
As we go through life, we wonder how all of the fragmented pieces of pain and experience fit into the greater plan. I analyze what my life has been and I think of a puzzle. If you have ever worked a puzzle, you know that you always start with the border (at least I do in my little 'Monkish' way). In doing so, you provide yourself with a border...a reference point for where all of the other pieces will go. It gives you an idea of color scheme, size, and an idea of what you have to work with. I see my early church life as being this border. I have not been silent about how I feel about my old church family, and I am glad I have moved on, but they provided me with the basics. They gave me the frame to my puzzle. I knew about Jesus, and religion and how a church functions on a basic level
As I have lived through teenaged angst, a wild college period, some bad choices, I often wondered how those things all fit into this puzzle. By themselves, they didn't make sense. They just seemed like random puzzle pieces laying on the table. They didn't match any of the colors I found in the border....perhaps they were center pieces.
As I'm aging and working to put this puzzle all together, I see how they are connected to the pieces I am putting in now. The more pieces that go in, the more colorful the finished work becomes. I also see that there are no random pieces. They ALL belong. The ugly brown ones compliment the more beautiful pieces. They are there for a reason. Perhaps they provide depth to a more primary section. Perhaps the large section of 'black' that seemed all wrong for this puzzle now makes sense when it is snapped into place. Some of those earlier pieces attach a larger section to the border. All of it is connected; directly or indirectly. It is all part of me and who I am.
As the puzzle become more complete, it also becomes easier. I am more able to see where the pieces go because there aren't as many options for their placement. They fit easier. As I look and analyze and work it all together, it goes faster. When I ask a friend to help, that friend may show me ways to fit things together that I may not have seen by myself. I have learned the benefit of help. The idea of the finished work seem more obvious, because now I can see the canvas of color...the contrasting lights and darks...and I know, that with the guiding hand of God, when that last piece locks into place, the finished work will be glorious!
posted by Lori Anne | Monday, September 26, 2005
1 Comments:
Yes, it will!
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