Do YOU Like Jigsaw Puzzles?

I don't. I hate them. (Remember the whole "passion" post?) Yah. I hate them with a passion. I do NOT understand how people can do like 1000 piece puzzles and stay sane. Honestly. I do not have the patience for them. (See previous post!) : ) I can barely do the 100 piece ones that I do with Jacob. (Why, yes, he is only 3, and yes, he IS a genuis!) Anyway, back to the point. Jigsaw puzzles, hatred of them, and impatience regarding them.

A wonderful college friend, Mary had this quote on her blog this morning: (You really need to hear her story!!)

"When we face struggles, we often wonder, "Why?" Years from now, though, we may realize that it was those struggles that taught us something we could not have otherwise learned - that there was purpose in our pain. God's purpose is greater than your pain, and He has a greater purpose than your problems."
Max Lucado Daily: Everyday Blessings

Whoo! Halellujah for that!!!

I was once again struck by the jigsaw analogy...which is, in my humble opinion, the only thing they are good for! Oh, that or you can glue the really, really pretty ones together and frame them. I digress...

I think that sometimes we get so overwhelmed (I know I do!) with it all we forget that we only see an itty, bitty part of the BIG picture. We are but one piece in the entire jigsaw puzzle of millions of pieces....only God sees the finished product, and how they all fit together!

This can be awfully hard to fathom. So many times I have been so encased in my own pain and suffering that I can't even imagine how anyone could benefit from it, let alone me...how ANYTHING good could come of suffering. Then I really stop and think about it. How I handle what happens to me is a reflection of God in me.
Do you see what I mean? If I am going through a tough time, and I complain and whine and shake my fist at God (Not that I haven't done that, because, BELIEVE me I have!!), what does that say about MY GOD? On the other hand, if I can muster up the courage to praise Him?

In the New Testament, Paul praised God when he was in chains, literally standing in running, raw sewage up to his knees. He is a better man than I! Standing in poop. Chained up. Praising God. Whoa. Oh, to be that committed, that in love, that dedicated, that full of belief and peace in God! Truly my heart's desire.

I see SUCH a pathetically small picture of my life. If I could rise above, and just see how it fits into all the other pieces, and how THEY fit into others'. But I guess that's why we have to have faith, and trust that God knows what He's doing.

Do you? Do you trust that God has YOUR best interests at heart? He does, ya know. I may not know why, but if I know ANYTHING, I know that the Bible is God's Word, and His Word is infallible and perfect. It is complete. And it tells us that He works ALL THINGS together for GOOD for those who love Him. He never said it would be easy, but He said He would work it all out. Rest in that today!!