Something to Ponder Continued: Start and Finish the same.

Happy Monday! I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. 

On Friday I left you with something to ponder, and I have pondered it too.

Curiously I wonder why  anyone would want  to try to piece together a puzzle without having any idea of what the end result should be? Sure it makes for an interesting challenge but it also wastes a lot of time. For me having the picture gives me a goal to shoot for , it allows me to have the necessary information to put together a plan or strategy to accomplish the end result. When I sit down to do a puzzle the first thing I do is pull out all  the end  pieces of the picture. After I have the entire outside completed  I then separate the rest of the  pieces into  color groups. Finally I work my way from one corner to the next until I have connected every piece. I probably look at the picture on that box hundreds of times for guidance on how to proceed not to mention for the assurance that I am going about it the right way, and as the pieces began to fit together I know I am and will complete the task.

In life, the picture on the box is symbolic to the bible, and like the picture on the puzzle box its there for us to reference, to make sure we have  what is necessary to complete the task. Unfortunately,  many times, we choose not use it, or use it only when we have failed to come up with a solution and find that nothing else has worked. I am guilty of this. There is the thought process that says; "God gave me brains to think" or "I am more than capable of handling this one on my own".  Although this is true, it has been my experience, and I have done it both ways, that seeking God first has always been the most important step when faced with challenges. When we do this, the challenge may still be difficult, but there is  peace in the journey. Use the box.

As for completing a puzzle only to realize that there are pieces missing.... well this is life. We are not always gonna have all that we need or want and sometimes things don't always turn out like we were expecting, but there is strength in the journey. Sure you could be one of those people that opens the puzzle box and  counts all the pieces before you even begin to put it together and for a puzzle that might be fine, but in life I am not so sure. Yes it is a good idea to weigh all the options and trouble shoot any possible down sides, but only for the purpose of preparation.  In this I mean that you can't let the possible outcomes keep you from the journey cause even if you go through the effort of trying to finish something that is impossible to finish you still grow along the way. 

Ya see  the puzzle with missing pieces, that is us - you and I. We will go through our lives unable to ever complete this puzzle, that is the journey, to be always and forever searching for those pieces, because we all have our own picture in our heads of what our life would or should be. Thankfully God holds the missing pieces of our lives, because  He knows no matter how great a life we could plan for ourselves without Him we would always remain incomplete. Makes sense that the one who created us is also the only one who completes us. 

I don't know if this makes any sense, but for me its pretty clear that with either scenario, no matter what path we choose, it is always best to start and finish the same............... God wants to be involved with every aspect of our lives, great and small, and the beauty of it all is He knows exactly how it will all turn out, and with Him it always turns out better than we can ever imagine, and we turn out better too.