Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A Piece of the Puzzle




This morning my level-headed husband smiled and said that I had a sympathy problem..."which can be a blessing or a curse" (I can't say this word without adding Jack Sparrow's accent). He's right. For the past three or four nights I've laid in bed, unable to sleep, staring at the ceiling, thinking, worrying, crying over people I know and people I don't know--their decisions, their losses, their heartbreaks, their upcoming surgeries. Or maybe it was just the stomach flu that hit me on Saturday where I felt like all my innards wanted to be on my out-erds...never mind. I'll spare you all the gory details.

Nevertheless, it got me thinking. I started thinking about faith. Faith is such a simple, yet complex thing. I think maybe it's so simple and that's what is so hard about it. It is trust. Implicit trust. Trust in an all-knowing, all-loving Father in Heaven. Faith is hardest to grasp when the situation is hardest to understand. But, there is always a Plan. A Big Plan. My son illustrated this point beautifully to me this afternoon...

As Joseph and I looked at all the unconnected pieces lying on the table, he grabbed one and started connecting. He knew what to do. But, he would get stumped, frustrated, discouraged and then I'd point out a piece that would go perfectly with it. He would say, "Oh yeah, I know, I know, I know." As he started working on a small part of the puzzle, I asked, "Joseph, what is this puzzle a picture of?" "Oh, it's of this little boy with a crown." Actually, it wasn't. The small boy with a crown was just the small corner of the puzzle...a small piece of the big picture.

So often, we get frustrated and discouraged with our circumstances. Heavenly Father lets us try to figure it out for awhile and then gives us nudges. They seem so simple and obvious. We wonder why we didn't think of it ourselves. We get caught on one small part of the "puzzle." We think "this is it." But really, it isn't. Our plight is to trust. Implicitly trust. Knowing that Heavenly Father is aware of every single, solitary piece of our puzzle. He knows where they all go. If we put our trust in Him, he will teach us. He will help us to progress, to refine us. Soon enough, our puzzle will all be put together. It will be a masterpiece.

p.s. my sweet friend texted me this week, saying that I was slacking on my blog. I'm going to do better. "No blog slacking": resolution #382. It'll be right next to "No mildew in the laundry room."

Love you all.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

After the last two weeks, and the email I recieved today with what I could only perceive to be some of the worst news ever. Your post tonight was EXACTLY what I needed to read. EXACTLY!! How do you do it? You are amazingly in-tune. Thanks so much.

Emma Jo said...

Wise woman. I also love puzzles because it makes me feel accomplished and complete. It's a puzzle kind of day. Thank you for sharing your wise-ness with us!! I just love you!

Polynesian Cultural Center said...

This is a great visual lesson. It will stick with me. Thanks for sharing it. Love,Mom

The Leonard Four said...

lex...your sympathy makes you who you are! that's something to be proud of! it's a wonderful quality! but i do like your message about the big picture! you're right! :)

AND i seriously just cracked up at the resolution thing...no mildew in the laundry room! you are too much and i just adore you! :) xo.

Amy Lynn said...

Honestly, would it be sacreligious if I just filed this blog under my favorite "general conference" talks? How wise! I am learning so much about faith...I want control and cold hard facts and answers...but when all is said and done, I really don't want it my way. I want more faith. Thank you for a little perspective tonight!

April said...

You brilliant, beautiful girl!