Puzzled...

Following Kate's wedding I've stayed up North for these past few days to be with my family and grandparents. I've spent most of my day/time working on Rip's shoes and just carrying on with normal business things - e-mails, website maintenance, etc. But last night I took a break from work and decided rather to try a 500-piece puzzle that my grandma started last week. She and my sister had a very hard time with it because it was such a difficult puzzle, and it was maybe 1/3 of the way done before I went at it last night. Now I can't remember the last time I've ever worked on a puzzle, let alone a 500-piecer, ha. But before I knew it, I spent hours on this thing. It was freakin' hard! If you looked at all the pieces laid over the table at one time, it was very overwhelming. But if you took it piece-by-piece and gradually worked your way down, then it was more manageable to handle. My saving grace was the puzzle box because I used the finished picture to basically place each piece. When I completed putting together the remaining 300 or so pieces together and reviewed my hours of work, then I began to look at the puzzle in a much deeper way.

Not meaning to preach or get all philosophical, but for some reason that puzzle related to me and its meaning very comparable to my life. Life would be so easy and understandable if we saw the finished product. We would be able to see how and why things happen and their ripple-effects. The Bible says God knows the final picture of everyone even before conception (not a direct quote because I don't know where it was located, ha). If we try to look at our future (all the pieces on the table) then we get overwhelmed because we can't see what piece will go where or for what reasons and how. But if we take it day-by-day and strive to live life the right way, then gradually we will accomplish piecing together the pieces God lays out for us. For me personally, when I look back to the past couple years and the journey I've been on in creating T.WayCustoms, then I am able to see the pieces and where they fell into place and for what reasons, etc. But at the time I had no idea or even a thought to why. I've realized that's why lately I've been stressing about where and how to build T.WayCustoms from this point. Instead of taking it day-by-day I've been worrying about pieces on the table that I can't hardly even see let alone know where they go. So my challenge for myself, and for you as well, is to not worry about the future pieces but to concentrate on the current ones in hand. In doing so takes trust...trust in God, trust in yourself, and trust in others. But when you live for the right reasons, then you know God will take care of you - even in a world as scary as it is today.