The Puzzle

I believe a "theme" of my life has been to Live Deliberately. I've never been the kind of person who lets life happen to them and they are just hanging on for the ride. Of course, most of life is out of our control and things do happen that we don't plan for. But every day we make choices, big and small, that add pieces and shape our puzzle. It may be as simple as an attitude about a circumstance or as big as who to marry and when to have children. Life is all about choices. We choose to worry. We choose to pray. We choose to fight. We choose to walk away. We choose to give up. We choose to love. We choose to follow ourselves. We choose to follow God.

When I look back at the path I have been on so far, sometimes I wonder why I ended up heading a certain way and how God is going to use that down the road. I really believe that every piece of our lives is usable by God to shape us into who He wants us to be. And that being said, there are a few pieces in my puzzle that don't seem to fit right. And if anyone out there is a puzzle lover like I am you know how exciting it is to fit another piece into the whole picture. It's pretty amazing how God works, and it's easier to go through life knowing that he has the final picture in mind and that every piece is meant to be a part of it.

A new opportunity has come my way recently. I get asked quite frequently to serve in various ministries and most of the time have to decline because I am pretty maxed out at the moment. And as much as I love the ministries I currently serve in, I have often wondered if it is good to spread myself thin between a few things rather than focus mainly on one and pour all my attention and energy into it. So when I was approached about it, my first thought was that there is no way I could add that big of a responsibility to the plate I was already carrying. But my second thought was, maybe God can use me here and maybe this is another piece of my puzzle. And maybe this piece is going to make another piece make a lot more sense.

I never really knew what I wanted to do in college. I think it is silly for an 18 year old to decide what career they want because I am still figuring that out more than a decade later. I think it's humorous that if I had been born even 5 years later, I might have gone right into graphic design which is what I really love. So there must be a reason why I ended up where I did. I tried nursing and it wasn't the right fit for me, so I went into early childhood education. The years I spent working with those kids were memorable and exciting for me. But after that part of my life ended, and the mommy phase began, I knew it wasn't something I was planning to go back to. So a part of me has always wondered if there was something more to that piece than I knew at the time.

And maybe now I know.

As a former kindergarten teacher, I am super excited to begin coordinating a new program for the 4 and 5 year olds at our church. The curriculum we use is a version of North Point Ministries "UpStreet" (we call it High Point) and it is an incredible program! If you've never heard of it you should check it out (www.upstreetkids.org). Of course, the churches it stems from have a whole wing -the size of our entire church building- devoted to this kids program, but you have to start somewhere! :) I am really looking forward to working with Liz, our amazing children's ministries coordinator, and putting together my team to create a version of our High Point that will be geared to 4 and 5 year olds - the very age group I poured years of my life into! And the timing of it works out perfectly for me to finish out the responsibilities I currently have this year so that I can completely focus on this ministry!

Who knows...maybe that piece of my life was a preparation for now...and I have to say I am quite excited to fit another piece into my puzzle.