Does anyone love puzzles as much as I love puzzles? I suppose it was my mother who got me hooked on them as a child. She also loved puzzles, Scrabble, and crosswords. Basically, anything to do with solving something, that was her jam!
I learned to start with the border and the four corners, laying the foundation for the rest of the puzzle. Plus, they were usually the easiest pieces to identify! Then I would put similar colors together, as well as scenes. If there was a tree trunk piece and a leaf piece, surely they should go in the same area.
But it never failed. During all of the piecing together, there was usually one area (or more!) that had a piece or two missing. Oh, it wouldn’t stop my progress, I would just move on. Until I couldn’t go any further. Then began the hunt to find the missing pieces. Without those pieces the puzzle won’t be complete, it simply won’t make sense. And what a feeling of delight it was to find them. The satisfaction of a job well done. Yes!
As we start building our lives, figuring out the things that we like or don’t like, people we trust and those we don’t, what career we are good at or stink at, what we are doing is building our border. We are setting the framework for how we will walk through the game of life.
But sometimes things are going well on the outside – wealth, family, career – yet we feel empty on the inside. Confused, depressed, not having a purpose in life. We long for more, but we don’t know what. Something is missing…
“He has given us a desire to know the future...”
Ecclesiastes 3:11, GNT
It has been said that there is a God-sized hole in each of us. It doesn’t take a wise person to know that people long for more than earth has to offer. When we see pain, we yearn for peace. When we see hunger, we question why. Senseless deaths, endless tears, needless loss...we have our moments of despair. But even in the midst of those moments we find slivers of light, breaking through heaven's window.
Babies are still being born, weddings, graduations, and birthdays are still being celebrated. Life seems to take on a rhythm of joy and pain.
We can't imagine what God has prepared for us. Who can fathom eternity? That's a mind-blower! But still, God gives us a desire to know the future.
Join us this Sunday as we continue in our sermon series: Push Play. This week we’ll talk about the Missing Piece. To register for worship, you can sign up at https://rsvp.church/r/gVufUAP4 . You can also join us online at 10:00am. For online worship go to www.umcgt.org.
Starting this Sunday we will return to outdoor worship! We are blessed to be able to worship in the beauty of God’s creation in our Prayer Garden. We are not requiring masks when we are outside, however feel free to mask if you would like. Remember, this is a no-judgment zone! We have plenty of room for social distancing. So, bring a comfy chair and join us in the garden. And again, if you are not feeling well, we trust that you will worship with us online.
I look forward to seeing you in the garden!
Blessings,
Pastor Linda