Tag: God has a Plan

Putting the Pieces Together

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

Entering the living room with my baby in my arms, I turned to my 2 year old. “You asked if we could do a puzzle earlier, and I said not right now, but now we can do a puzzle if you want.”

My 2 year old lit up. “Okay!”

He hurried to fetch the puzzle.

I attempted to put my baby in his bouncy seat, but he fused. He was having one of those “Mommy hold me” days.

I’d just have to work on the puzzle one-handed. How hard could that be? 

My 2 year old placed the puzzle on the table and climbed onto a chair.

I helped him open the 100 piece bunny puzzle.

“Now, first we put edge pieces over here and middle pieces over there. See? This is an edge piece. It has a straight side.”

I knew the piece sorting was still a bit beyond my son’s comprehension.

My 4 year old daughter entered the kitchen.

I smiled at her. “Want to help us with the puzzle?”

She frowned. “No… Well, just for the sorting.”

With my daughter’s help, we soon had the pieces sorted. 

She wandered off to the living room.

I shifted my baby to the other arm.

My son was trying to put two totally unrelated pieces together.

I knew I had to act fast before he became too discouraged. 

I sifted through the edge pieces finding several for the grass at the bottom of the puzzle.

I spotted two that should fit. I put them together. Good.

Taking the pieces apart, I passed them to my son.

“Here. These two go together.”

As he turned his attention to them, I slid the mismatched pieces away from him.

It only took him a moment to connect the two pieces I had passed to him.

He reached for the closest piece and began trying to make it fit.

I turned my attention back to my pile of pieces.

Finding another that would fit with his pieces, I passed it to him.

While he worked to attach that one, I strained my brain to line up five more pieces. Rather than connect the pieces, I slide them in front of him.

“Here. Put these ones together.”

I paused to stretch, then was back at it.

It took a lot of quick thinking to keep my son supplied with connecting puzzle pieces.

As we neared the end of the puzzle, my daughter came to help us finish.

By the end of the puzzle, my brain felt fried, but I had a happy 2 year old and a completed puzzle.

Later, I paused to reflect on how much work it was for me to put together 100 perfectly fitting pieces.

How much greater is God who is piecing together all of history!

God is orchestrating all things into a cohesive, marvelous big picture story, even while giving me free will to make choices.

As Paul taught in Acts 17:24-27:

“The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth… He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God…” (CSB)

When I read the whole Bible from cover to cover, this becomes more apparent.

What a beautifully intricate and incomprehensibly complex puzzle God has woven together, and He doesn’t feel worn out from this work (unlike me with a measly 100 piece puzzle).

What an incredible God we serve!

In the midst of that, I get to be a part of helping put the pieces together as I make choices day by day.

Sometimes, like my 2 year old, I try to put the pieces together the way I want.

I grab two totally unrelated pieces and try to force them into place.

I don’t know they don’t belong together in the big picture, but God knows.

As I submit to His guidance in my life, God passes me puzzle pieces that do belong together.

I get to partner with God in putting them together, though in truth, He is the mastermind behind it all.

He shows me what role He wants me to play. I am simply to obey.

Whether that is inviting a neighbor to church, writing a blog post, praying for a co-worker, volunteering at church, or helping a friend in need. It is also in the bigger choices I make: who I marry, where I live, what job I do.

As I ask Him to guide me in these things, I join Him in building a part the big picture story.

How incredible that God, the Master Puzzle Maker, invites me into the process of helping put the pieces together!

May I be faithful to follow His instructions.

Broken Crayon – Daddy Fix It

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

“Draw. Draw.” My toddler begged.

I reached for the crayons. “Okay, we can do some colouring.”

She helped me get some paper and our mini colouring table.

I passed her the open crayon box. She took a blue crayon out, then handed a green one to me.

“This one is for me?”

She pointed to one of the papers. “Mama draw.”

“Okay. Hmm… What should I draw? I know. I will draw a circle.”

As she scribbled on the page, I drew a circle. I added two eyes, a triangle nose, and a mouth to the circle.

“Look, I drew a cat.”

“Kitty! Ear.” She reached over and scribbled blue where the cat’s ear should be.

“Thanks for giving my cat an ear.”

Taking the crayon box, she exchanged her blue for a different crayon. This crayon was orange, but when she pulled it out, she noticed something.

“Broken.” For a moment she looked about to cry.

“That’s okay,” I tried to reassure her. “You can still colour with it.”

She stared at the two pieces of crayon in her hand, then tried to put them back together. It, of course, didn’t work.

She turned to me confidently. “Dada fix it.”

I was tempted to laugh, but her little face was so serious and confident.

“Maybe Dada will fix it. You can ask him when he comes home.”

She nodded and repeated her words. “Dada fix it.”

Setting aside one of the pieces, she happily returned to her colouring with the other broken piece.

This was only one example of the many times I have heard those words uttered from her lips with complete confidence.

“Dada fix it.”

When she saw a ripped book, she was concerned, but then told herself, “Dada fix it.”

When she saw an upholstered chair that had long ago been shredded by cat claws so that it now was adorned by a blanket. She was sad, but then decided. “Dada fix it.”

The faith my little girl has in her daddy’s ability to fix things has shown up many times.

Sometimes my husband does indeed fix whatever it was that was broken. Other times he does not. Yet still she remains confident of his ability to fix anything.

What about me? Do I believe that my Heavenly Father can do anything?

Do I really believe what Mark 10:27 tells us?

“Looking at them, Jesus said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.'” (CSB)

Now just because God can do anything doesn’t mean that He will.

Yes, my husband could technically fix the broken crayon. He could melt the two pieces and reform them into a whole new crayon. Did he choose to do this? No. Instead, we taught our little girl to be content to work with what she has. Broken crayons still colour just fine. Indeed, a few months later, she often sought out that broken crayon as one of her favourites to colour with.

Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (CSB)

God can do anything, and He wants us to bring our requests to Him.

He will not always do what we ask or want, yet He still wants us to ask Him, even if the thing seems too small to bother or too impossible.

Nothing is too impossible for God.

Today, may I truly believe that God can do the impossible, and may I bring my requests to Him.

As I do so, Philippians 4:7 will become mine. (I’ve included verses 4-7 for fuller context.)

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7 CSB)

Heel Pricks

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

The nurse stepped into our room.

“How’s baby doing?”

I glanced up. “He’s starting to stir. Likely he’ll be hungry soon.“

She took a moment to study our newborn as he lay swaddled in the bassinet.

Next, she turned to the monitor screen showing his heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation.

She checked his IV line. It was still running smoothly.

She turned to us then. “The doctor has ordered some blood work. I’ll have to prick his heel to get 25-30 drops of blood so they can check to see how he’s doing. Are you okay if I go ahead with that?”

My husband and I glanced at each other and nodded. “Yes, go ahead.”

The nurse put a little heat pack on our son’s heel and got to work preparing what was needed.

A minute or two later, she turned back to our newborn.

She took the heat pack off and examined his heel. He already had a few scabs from previous pricks, but she found a new spot.

He was awake now and starting to look for food.

When the nurse pricked his heel, his little face scrunched up and turned red. He began to cry.

The nurse squeezed his heel to get one drop of blood out of his foot and then another. She skillfully collected the sample into a little tube.

I pressed a soother into my newborn’s mouth, but to little avail.

“It’s okay,” I told him. “It’ll help them get you feeling better.”

But he didn’t understand.

He continued to cry – a heart-wrenching newborn cry.

The nurse continued her work.

Finally the nurse had collected enough blood to be able to send it for testing. 

Dodging cords from his monitors, we changed his little diaper, and I picked him up for nursing.

He calmed as soon as I began to nurse him.

We breathed a sigh of relief.

– – – –

Why would we allow someone to intentionally hurt our little guy who had no idea what was going on?

That wasn’t the only time we okayed something that hurt him either.

Even in the first 24 hours of his life outside the womb, my husband gave permission for nurses to do blood work.

Our little boy cried hard each time his heel was pricked. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew something hurt. 

Why would we, as loving parents, allow and even encourage someone to hurt our baby?

Because we knew it might help.

You see, when our little boy was born, he was having difficulty breathing. It was bad enough that they admitted him to the hospital NICU.

After a couple of days on a CPAP machine and oxygen, our son had improved some, but then began to show signs of infection, including in some of his bloodwork. When they put him on antibiotics, he quickly improved.

He had to remain in hospital until his antibiotics were completed because they were given by IV.

What a relief when we could take our baby home with us after a week in the NICU! He transitioned home so smoothly that you’d never know he had needed that extra care.

(A quick shout out to say thank you to the NICU team for their incredible care for the precious little ones in their unit. It was amazing to see the work they do.)

Why share all this? Because my husband pointed out a powerful allegory in the midst of it.

He, as a loving dad, allowed the nurses to prick our little boy and make him bleed. Why? Because he could see the big picture.

My son didn’t understand. All he knew was that something hurt. He couldn’t have even told me that it was his foot. He just knew that something hurt and he didn’t like it.

My newborn did the only thing he knew to do. He cried. 

Did I rebuke my son for crying? No. I almost felt like crying right alongside him. 

Instead, I sought to comfort him and, in a sense, to join him in his suffering.

In comparison to God, I am like my little newborn. 

I am small and helpless.

I do not understand the big picture.

I feel it if something hurts me – oh boy, do I feel it!

I typically have no idea that there might be a purpose behind the pain, nor of what that purpose might be.

God is good, and God is love. He is at work behind the scenes orchestrating everything for His glory and for the good of those who love Him. (Rom. 8:28)

When a heel prick comes in my life (indeed it is when, not if), how should I respond?

First, I find time to take my crying to God.

Just as I didn’t rebuke my newborn for crying, God welcomes me to tell Him how I’m feeling. He cares about me.

If I feel the need, I can even ask God, “Why?”

More likely than not, God will not tell me why on this side of heaven, but I can still ask. 

Then I move on to surrender the whole thing to Him, trusting that He is in control and knows what He is doing even if I don’t know why. 

I turn my eyes upon Jesus. I remind myself of who He is: all-mighty, all-knowing, good, loving, and interested in the details of my life.

While all that is good and deeply valuable, on a practical level, what should I do when my heel is pricked? When grief or unknowns make me stutter?

In the words of Elizabeth Elliott, I “do the next thing.”

I determine the next thing to do, whether that is make supper or pack a hospital bag, and I do it. Sometimes I have to be even more specific when finding the next thing to do: peel the onion… Put a phone charger in the hospital bag… Once that’s done, I can do the next thing.

“Wait for the Lord and keep His way…” (Psalm 37:34)

Next time I have my heel pricked, may I remember to take my emotions to God, to surrender and trust Him, to remind myself who God is, and to do the next thing.

Construction Happens – Will I Marvel or Mumble?

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

As I neared the church parking lot, I studied the construction barriers. Could I drive into the parking lot?

An email sent earlier in the week had noted there would be construction. A construction crew needed to tear up the street just outside the parking lot to do work on the buried water pipes. The email suggested the crew would plan to keep a clear route to the church parking lot for mid-week events.

This end of the road had barricades, though there weren’t any workers nearby. Perhaps the other end was open.

I continued past the road and made a long detour in an attempt to approach the church from the other direction on that same road.

As I rounded the corner bringing the church into view, I stepped on the brake. Not only was this end barricaded, but an excavator and front-end loader were hard at work here.

Definitely not open.

There was no room to turn around where I was on the narrow street with cars parked along both sides.

I switched into reverse.

I backed up till I passed the nearest alley, then drove through it. It was bumpy and unpaved, but empty.

Back out on the main street, I approached the first end of the road again.

One of the barricades had been moved to the side. I could see a clear path to the church parking lot. The heavy machinery and crew were a fair distance away.

I decided to try it.

I cautiously navigated past the barrier and along the road.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled into the church parking lot, and chose an empty stall.

In the back of my vehicle, I could hear my kids exclaiming excitedly about the construction vehicles.

I unbuckled my daughter and let her out.

Walking around to the other side of the vehicle, I pulled my 1-year-old son out. I placed him on the sidewalk.

He took two steps towards the busy construction crew (who were a whole parking lot away), then sat down decidedly. He stared in fascination at the noisy machines.

My daughter asked, “What are they building?”

“They’re doing something with the pipes,” I explained.

“Oh.” She watched in wonder.

My son continued to give them his undivided attention. He didn’t want to go anywhere else.

Several other ladies showed up. 

I convinced my 1-year-old to head into the church. Still he kept looking back. He pointed and made grunting, sputtering sounds – his version of what the heavy equipment sounded like.

As we entered the church, we greeted one of the pastors.

Immediately we discussed the inconveniences and hassle the construction site had caused and our hope that it would be short-lived.

A day or two later, I found myself thinking of the occasion. I see a lesson there for me.

As Paul tells me, “it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 CSB

The construction represents God’s work in my life. He helps me grow and become more of the person He created me to be – a person filled with the Fruit of the Spirit.

When there is no construction – no upgrading or making new – things slowly, over the years, degrade and fall into disrepair.

My life is like that. If God is not at work transforming me, I am coasting. Coasting may feel fine and good for a while, but gradually coasting leads away from a close walk with God. As I become more distant from God, the Fruit of the Spirit will fade out of my life.

When construction happens, it is typically messy and noisy. It is an inconvenience requiring detours and delays.

It is not clean and tidy most of the time. It is not comfortable, but it is necessary.

Sometimes, like the construction site by my church, it is all to do with deep hidden pipes. Once they refill the hole and patch the road back together, it will seem like they did nothing helpful at all.

Sometimes the work God has to do in me is like that. It is a transformation of the deep hidden parts of me that most people will never know about.

Yet if the deep underground pipes stop working, everyone knows about it. Fresh water stops flowing or sewage backs up. It is not good at all!

What do my children’s responses have to do with any of this?

They are a reminder that I get to choose my attitude.

When construction happens in my life, will I choose to marvel or mumble?

Will l be annoyed, frustrated, and complaining? Will I rant and fight against God?

Or, like my 1-year-old son, will I choose to sit in awe and marvel at what God is doing?

Like my daughter, will I wonder what God is up to? Will I choose to be hopeful for what the future holds as He is at work preparing me for it?

Today, I want to pause to thank God that He is at work in me and to wonder at what He is up to.

God knows what He is doing, I can trust Him.

Rest so Peaceful

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

I cradled my recently turned 1-year-old in my arms. He snuggled in, sleepy and content to be held.

Looking into his big blue eyes, I couldn’t help but marvel at his willingness to rest in trust.

You see, this little boy has recently learned to walk. Now he walks everywhere. He loves his new freedom.

He walks and walks, stops to play, then walks some more. I jokingly say, “He has no time to sit still. He’s got to move!”

He is also beginning to understand words and communicates by pointing, nodding, and saying, “more, more.”

I’ve started referring to him as a toddler rather than a baby.

Yet in that moment, as I sang him a lullaby, he seemed so much like a baby. His simple peaceful trust that I would take care of him was worth marveling at.

As I took a step toward his crib, his eyes shifted to the ceiling. He watched calmly as I carried him past the light and a door frame.

He let me lower him onto his back in the crib.

There was no fear, no fight for control in his gaze as he studied my face.

As I headed back downstairs, I found myself imagining my response if someone were to carry me. 

My stomach clenched at the thought of feeling so utterly out-of-control when being carried on my back, unable to look anywhere but at the ceiling. The anxiety that would grab at me if I couldn’t control where I was going or even adjust for better balance would be near overwhelming.

My little one doesn’t always rest so peacefully. He is currently in a phase of clinging to mommy. Only a handful of people have gained enough trust for him to rest in their arms.

Even in his babylike trust, who is holding him is the key.

What about me? Do I have that babylike trust in God my Father? Or have I become so accustomed to independence and having a sense of control that I refuse to rest in His arms?

In this area, I need to go backwards in development, back to that childlike dependence on my Heavenly Father.

This is not easy.

When I feel out of control, I want to fight for all I am worth to get that control back.

Yet I am never truly in control in the first place regardless of how I might feel. I cannot control the weather, how other people think and act, or many aspects of my health.

God is in control.

Not only is He in control now, but He sees the big picture. He knows what the future holds and He is interested in more than just my temporary pleasure for today.

Along with that, knowing God is loving and good is reason enough for me to seek to rest in His arms.

At all times, but especially when I feel out of control and helpless, may I lean into His loving arms and rest peacefully there.

Isaiah reminds me that God carries His children. Having just discussed how people worshipping false gods in that day literally carried their gods, Isaiah stated:

 

“Listen to Me, … you whom I have upheld since your birth,

    and have carried since you were born.

Even to your old age and gray hairs

    I am He, I am He who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

Isaiah 46:3-4 NIV

 

Experiencing peaceful rest in God’s arms is not necessarily a lack of action, but a heart condition.

On the outside, sometimes resting in His arms will be sitting and waiting. Sometimes it will be active and hard work.

Regardless, may I learn to rest my heart in His arms, trusting that He is good, loving, and in control.

 

As I close, I encourage you to take a moment to listen to this well-loved hymn: Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.