Pieces of Me

 

A piece of soul with no body
A piece of trouble with no blame
A piece of regret with no conscience
A piece of brightness with no color
A piece of why me with no answers
Too many questions and not many answers
This is God’s puzzle and He puts it together but you must give him the pieces
~Unknown

I instantly connected with those words the first time I heard them. I do not know the author or if there’s more lines, it was a line I heard while watching CSI and spoken by actor Gary Dourdan. I don’t remember the details of the episode, only words. I especially like the last sentence “This is God’s puzzle and He puts it together but you must give him the pieces.” Life can be overwhelming at times and we can feel as if nothing is happening the way we want it too. “The way (we) want it to!” When we leave God out, life quickly becomes overwhelming. I experienced a level of overwhelming agitation today and although I’m not completely satisfied with how I handled it, I am thankful that I am learning and growing in this area of my life. My progress is due to God’s amazing grace and mercy and to faithful friends who are not afraid to be honest with me regarding my actions or inaction. I attribute the successes of today with starting it off by talking with God. I prayed and then decided to proactively meet the day with optimism. However, I found it too easy to fall into old habits and the familiar, (negative talk), I reminded myself that it’s all a process. Two steps forward, one step back…progress is sometimes slow but positively moving in the right direction. I am constantly telling myself to practice “Area of Control/Area of Concern!” This phrase has truly become my axiom. I strive to do my very best at everything I attempt to do. I am definitely an overachiever not to outshine others but to challenge myself to be better, to grow and to gain more knowledge and to learn new things. I am happy to say that even though today had its ups and downs, I can say with much confidence I am stronger today than I was a year ago and that my spirit was not crushed because of a hiccup in my day. I am learning to separate myself from what I do at my job and who I am. I have learned that my duties as an employee do not define me as a person. My job is what I do, my life is who I am. I encourage you to be proud of who you are and take pride in doing any job well and don’t overwhelm yourself with things that are out of your CONTROL! Take your cares to Jesus! Trust in Jesus! Psalm 55:23 “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

As I am preparing for Lent, I want to open myself to the changes and challenges God may have in store for me. The study I am going to be participating in will be addressing “The Wilderness of Mortality; A Liminal Space; Hunger; Divine Testing; Power; Providence and Restoration.” I am looking forward to sharing each of these with you.

~Blessings and Peace~