Learning to see the bigger picture

If you look at puzzle pieces, they don’t make much sense at first. Oddly shaped, patterns that are random.

We are incapable of seeing how they will work together.

We are like that, we humans.

Odd and beautiful, all at once.

We start with one piece, maybe our quirky sense of fashion, and add a few more pieces. Our kind heart and love toward the helpless.

As our pile grows, we still struggle to see the bigger picture.

How do we make sense of the pieces we’d rather leave out? To drop on the floor and maybe sweep up into the dirt pile headed for the trash?

That piece of selfishness or the one with bumpy edges that ruffles people the wrong way. Those came with the package too.

You know, those pieces are worth saving. We can never make a complete picture without integrating all of who we are. Every piece counts.

We are beautiful, scattered, puzzles. Perfect in our imperfection.

What does seeing the bigger picture mean in real life?

I am reading Breathing Room by Leeana Tankersley. It’s deep, I like it. One part got me thinking:

I am both exceptional and unexceptional, common and uncommon, remarkable and unremarkable. As Brennan Manning said about himself, “I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.” And, the great thing is, it’s OK. Why do we assume that our power lies only in the version of ourselves we deem most perfect?
I will disappoint people and I will inspire people. So will you. We don’t have to run from our magic or our mundaneness. WE turn toward it all, the beautiful mess, and we say, “Yes, I am all of that” …

Leanna Tankersley, Breathing Room: Letting go so you can fully live

Some of our puzzles will live up to the name, and indeed puzzle people. Even ourselves. Who wants to acknowledge the ugly?

In that pile though, there are surprises! See that piece of sunshine and generosity? That red piece of feistiness that also brings passion to life?

Those gray undersides that aren’t afraid to love the unlovable?

Today,  let’s realize that we are created by God’s own hands. He delights in us.

We don’t have to be perfect, smooth, or beautiful to be celebrated.

In the end, the pieces will come together into something awesome. Hands will clap in delight as the picture is complete!

We are scattered pieces today, but every breath we take puts another piece in the puzzle.

And the picture becomes clearer.

Resources to encourage you:

The Art of Rest: Faith To Hit Pause In A World That Never Stops

Peace with the Psalms: 40 Readings to Relax Your Mind and Calm Your Heart

Find Peace: A 40-day Devotional Journey For Moms

The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You (ps, I am an HSP, are you?)

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