A Piece of the Puzzle

I've had this puzzle piece since my freshman year of college. No, I didn't decide to take it out of a puzzle because it was my favorite piece, nor did I find it and decide to keep it. It was given to me.

During my freshman year of college, a woman came to our campus and spoke in chapel one morning. Sadly, I don't remember her name, but I do remember the message and the meaning behind the puzzle piece. She gave her testimony, a story of how God saw past her dirtiness and filth to who she really was: His daughter. She talked about how there were so many times in her life where she didn't know what God was doing, but knew He was doing something.

But, the message about the puzzle piece was what stuck with me the most, and is what comes back to me as I stare at it sitting on my desk. It is that we only have a piece of the puzzle to look at, but God has the entire box cover.

You know how, when you are putting together a puzzle and you have the box in front of you to guide you? Well, that's God. He's got the box with the complete picture on it. We've only got a puzzle piece, so we only see a very small portion of the whole picture, which is very large.

I'm preparing to walk across a stage on Saturday, May 21, 2011, and receive my B.A. in Professional Writing. The question most people have already asked is, "What are you doing after you graduate?" My answer? "I have no idea, but God does."

And that is the truth. I don't know what I'm doing after I graduate. I think I am going home for a short period of time, but I'm not sure. There is a possibility that I could go to Kentucky and intern, but I don't know where, when, or for how long. Then, I have been looking at and praying about Mercy Ministries. My friend sent me the link sometime last semester, telling me that a friend of hers went there and has been forever changed. She thought it would be a good place for me to go. I looked at it, and then put it in a folder to look at later. A few weeks ago, I had a dream that, for some reason, made me start thinking about Mercy again. I think this is maybe where God wants me to go, but I'm not sure. I haven't come upon any opposition to me going when I talk to people about it. They seem all for it, saying that it's exactly what I need. I have the application, and it is a tedious process. I need to have sponsors to help with the costs of getting medical tests and a physical done, because I don't have insurance right now, and that could get expensive. I also need sponsors to sponsor me while I'm there, because I will need spending money, but won't have a job. Then, there are my school loans that I would need to get a deferment on and so many other things that I just don't know how they are going to work out.

But, God has the whole picture, and I have a piece. I know that with Him, all things are possible. I know that I can't limit Him, because He can do anything. I know that if this is where He wants me to go, He's going to provide the way. It is so hard to trust Him and take this leap of faith. But, isn't that what this whole 'Christianity' thing is about, anyway?

If you find yourself not knowing what you are supposed to do in a situation or just not knowing how something is going to work out, grab a puzzle piece from a puzzle and remind yourself that God, who is All-Sufficient, Jehovah Jireh, has the box cover and sees the whole picture. He knows what He wants to do and He knows where the pieces that you hold in your hands fit into the whole picture.

The Answer is in the Word...Every Time

Throughout my four years of college, I have never once lost my I.D. card.

Until Tuesday, May 10, 2011. I was in the chapel during an all campus worship session when one moment it was in my pocket, and the next it was gone. I didn't remember putting it in my bag, but I looked there anyway. I found everything but my I.D. card. I decided to not think about it because, after all, the card had my name on it, so whoever found it didn't have to think hard about who it belonged to. I was sure that it would be found and returned.

But, as the next day came and went, my I.D. card was still nowhere to be found and, to my surprise, no one had turned it in. I decided that I would go to campus safety and get a temporary one the next day so that I could get into meals in the dining commons.

As I went to bed that night, I pulled my Bible to me from the window sill. I've gotten into the routine of reading Psalms/some Scripture before I go to sleep. As I opened my Bible, none other than my I.D. card came tumbling out. I was so grateful, but also surprised. I didn't remember putting it into my bag, where my Bible also was, so my first thought was, 'How did you get in there?" I put my I.D. card on my desk, read some Scripture, and went to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, the night's event of finding my I.D. card was on my mind. I was thinking about how I was looking to people to have my I.D. card when it was in my Bible the whole time. I am one of those people who is constantly looking to other people for the answers to the problems in my life when really, they don't the answers. If I would look to Scripture and to the One who is the Living Word, finding the answer would be no problem. I would also find my identity there, instead of looking to the world to show it to me.

Hmm...some interesting parallels there, huh? I have a card on my desk that a friend gave to me. It's one of those little reminder note card things with a quote that she wrote on it. The quote is from Life's Ultimate Privilege by DeVern Fromke. It says, "You'll be upset if you look at people too much. If you look around, you will be distracted. If you look within yourself, you'll be discouraged. Only as you keep looking to Jesus will you develop confidence and peace." I love this quote. It is very challenging, but so very true.

The next time I 'lose something' and need an answer, I hope that I remember this and go to the Word first. He is faithful to provide an answer every time, despite the situation.