PUZZLING

 

 

 

Our five year old grandson ran to the cabinet that held games and puzzles.  He came out with a colorful 500 piece jigsaw puzzle and dumped it in the middle of the living room floor.  I had purchased the puzzle some time ago thinking that our older grands might enjoy putting the puzzle together during some weekend trip to our house.  But our youngest grand really loves puzzles.  He started right away putting together colorful pieces from the middle of the puzzle.  Our granddaughter joined in and of course I couldn't resist a good puzzle!  But wait...you gotta start with the frame first right?  That's the way I've always done it.  I started explaining that we needed to start with the pieces with the straight edges.  Not heeding my explanation, they continued.  And I kept searching for frame pieces. My way isn't always the only or right way. 

It seemed like just a few minutes later, mom and dad told them it was time to go.  Our grandson jumped up and said, "Granna...you finish it."  So we picked up the pieces and moved them to the dining room table.  It wasn't long before I was in working the puzzle on my own...as any dutiful Granna would do.   

As I worked, I began to think of the puzzling things of life.  

The pieces weren't perfectly interlocking so it was a little more difficult than I thought it might be.  There were pieces that seemed to fit, but didn't match up correctly.   Surely there's been a time when you felt like you didn't fit in...I know I have.  Many times.  It's not comfortable.  But then there's times when you're with "forever" friends and things just fit together perfectly...even if you haven't talked to them in months. Then there are also those people who make you feel completely comfortable from the first time you meet.  So wonderful!

 

When the puzzle was nearly completed, I was left with the pieces that our grandson had started with in the first place.  It seemed a hard place to start to me.  There are times in our lives when out of the blue, things fall to pieces.  Any number of things that just rip the rug out from under you before you knew what happened.  Things like the loss of a child or loved one, illnesses, marital difficulties, storms that destroy your home, or losing your job.  It's not just these times when we need the Lord.  In the easier times, we need to work on strength training -- building our faith to trust in Him so that when needed, we can stand under the strain of harder times.  It's also in those times that we rely on the Lord to guide us in just the right way to help others in the midst their storms.  The Lord is faithful and we can depend on Him to put the pieces back together.  He just asks us to trust Him.

We're also individual pieces that form the Lord's church.  Someone in Bible class mentioned that we're all pieces of clay in the Potter's hand.  Some are meant to be a plate, a bowl or maybe a vase but all are serviceable pieces.  Even a broken piece of pottery can give light when a candle is placed inside.  

Aren't we all broken in some way...made perfect by the blood of the Lamb.  We're parts of a puzzle -- perfectly pieced together to make one beautiful picture.  

 

Love till next time,                                          Lanna 

For your consideration:  Philippians 2:1-8 and I Corinthians 12:12-26. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

True or Fake?

           True or Fake?

In a world of responsible advertising versus false advertising,  reporting the news without prejudice and fake news...you have to stay on your toes...checking and verifying to make sure you're not scammed or misled.  

Several years ago, I was leaving from a visit with my mother  in assisted living.  Walking to my car, I saw something shiny and stopped to see what it was. Stooping to pick it up, it appeared to be a rather large diamond.  I looked around and thought, "Okay, do I walk into the office and ask if anyone lost a diamond?"  I imagined every nurse and little retiree would break their neck to get to the office to claim the gem.  So I held onto it trying to think how to best handle the situation.  Thinking that there was no real way to find the owner, I wondered if it was real.  Through the internet, I searched, 'How to tell a fake from a real diamond'.  To my surprise it passed all the tests.  My husband had a friend who was a novice jeweler.  He had a loupe for inspecting gems.  After work one evening, we went to see the friend and he said the thought it was real!  When we told our son that the guy said it was real, he said, "Then you should have sold it to him too...cause that's not real!"  Well I laughed but still wished it wasn't a fake.  Next, I took the stone to a reputable jeweler who confirmed by weighing that it was indeed a fake.  It took a person who had studied diamonds to tell that it was the real deal.

A year ago, my husband and I moved to east Texas to be near our kids and our grands.  It's been a good move.  Nothing better than being closer to those you love.  Besides our family, it's been fun to experience the trees and beautiful plant life here.  Spring has been especially beautiful...blooming plants like dogwoods, azaleas, camellias, gardenias and of course Texas wild flowers.  Most of the spring time flowers and flowering trees have all bloomed and shed their flowers.  But...technically, it's still spring and won't be summer until June 20th and I'm hanging on to that!  It may be really humid and in the low 90's but it's still spring! In my head I hear the mantra..."It's still spring...it's still spring...it's still spring!!" 

Just before things started budding out, my husband and I were deciding on what needed to be pruned.  We found a couple of places where wisteria was growing.  There wasn't a lot of wisteria near our former home, but what I saw was really beautiful --- as long as it was blooming ---after that...not so much.   The problem with the wisteria on our place was that the vines from prior years had wrapped around three trees in one place and around some crepe myrtles in another.  We couldn't decide...should we cut it or leave it. We would kinda like to see what it looked like while it was blooming.  While trying to decide, we made two trips to northeast Texas to see family.  Along the way, we saw wisteria blooming wild everywhere!  Although it was really very beautiful, it looked as if they were choking out the other trees around them. 

                        

Because of what we saw, we decided to cut it out to save our trees.  The vines were a tangled mess!  We worked two days trying to clean it out.  The stump of the wisteria by the three trees was as big around as a football! 

          

So all this got me thinking about the The True Vine, our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.  Read our Lord's description in John 15:1-12.  Using the metaphor of a grapevine, Jesus states He is the true vine and we are the branches.  We're a part of Him...a part of His family.  We've been grafted into the vine through His promise!  Did you know that the grafted part of the grapevine is the very strongest point? 

 

 In contrast, look at wisteria.  It's a vine.  Not a grapevine but a vine nonetheless...an imitation. It's kind of amazing how the cascading blooms resemble that of a bunch of grapes.   Jesus gave a warning to His followers in Luke 21 starting in verse 5 as he was speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem.  He said, "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he' and 'the time is near'. Do not follow them."  Don't be fooled!  "...for even satan masquerades as an angel of light."  II Corinthians 11:14.   

 

Even though it may look like the real thing, you've got to test it!  II Timothy 2:14-19.

 

 It's noted that wild grapevines also climb trees but they only do so to reach sunlight.  They do not kill trees.  Satan comes to kill and destroy--just like wisteria. And following him in a life of sin leads to death but a life in Christ leads to life everlasting. 

 

There's a comforting point found in Romans 8 and starting with verse 31.  It asks, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  Then reading further, it says, "...we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Isn't that awesome!?!   

So in conclusion, don't be fooled!  I John 4:1-18

     1. Test the spirits to see if they're from God. 

                    2.  The one who lives in us is greater                              than he who is in the world. 

          3.  Love one another for love comes from God.                God is love.

          4.  God loved us and sent his Son as an                           atoning sacrifice for our sins.

          5.  Acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God.

      

 Love till next time,

           Lanna 

For your consideration:  Galatians 3:26-27, Galatians 4:6-7, John 17:6-26, John 10:10