From puzzle pieces to mosaic musings

I remember when I got saved. In fact, it happened eight years ago yesterday. I had already been told I would be moving to Florida for my Junior and senior year of high school. I remember that my parents let me go for one final time to summer camp. It was at this camp, at age 17, that God gripped ahold of my heart and I realized I was lost and without a Savior. The dear girl that led me to the Lord was kind enough to help me, after I accepted Christ, by telling me that the struggles I was having about moving away were totally normal. "Amy," she said, "Our lives are a big puzzle. We THINK we know what the picture will turn out like in the end if WE have our way. But, we forget that God is in control and sometimes He hands us a puzzle piece and we may struggle for years trying to figure out where that piece goes." At that time, God had given me a Florida shaped puzzle piece and I was baffled as to how this was going to be good for me or help me in life. After all, all my friends were in Wyoming, my sports teams, my debate club (yes, I am a nerd and that is ok)...everything I knew was there. But, God handed me the Florida shaped piece and I begrudgingly took it in my life.

Here I am, 8 years from that moment and I BLESS the Lord for that piece. Without the Florida shaped piece I never would have gone to the college I went to. I would have missed out on some amazing friendships. I would have missed out on meeting my husband who I cannot imagine my life without. I would never have known the two amazing church families I have been a part of. Thank you Lord for that Florida shaped puzzle piece.

But now, God is doing something new. Instead of a puzzle, I feel like the new project in my life is a mosaic. If you know anything about those, they are made up of hundreds of different shards of glass. In order to make that beautiful picture, the artist must first shatter the plate, the bowl, the cup, the whatever it was to make the little pieces that will EVENTUALLY be art. Right now, the beautiful plate I had been clutching in my hands is shattered at my feet in a million pieces. Finally, I was going to be a mom, just like all my friends. It was going to complete our family...BUT GOD, in His infinite wisdom said "not right now." When it happened, I did not get it. I still struggle with it. But, even now, I can see God picking up those little glass shards and HE IS MAKING SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL. "Don't you worry Amy", He comforts with His sweet words. "You may not know what this picture will turn out to be...but I love you and I am making a masterpiece in your life...won't you please trust me?" It may take me another 8 years to see the picture He is making out of it...but I know my God and this mosaic will have His name and His glory written all over it.