I don't know about you, but it's harder than usual to find time to clean my house now that we are in quarantine. What used to be challenging with the mere presence of a four-year-old, has multiplied in difficulty with the added duty of overseeing an easily distractible 5th grader's at-home school routine. It has been going on for 6 weeks since my house has been reasonably cleaned. This week I resorted to cleaning sections of my house daily in order to make getting it done.
So, the scene has been set. Every day, I sort through piles of 'stuff' in every room. I not only clean but organize, sort, and re-home objects back to where they belong. Among the items, I found most were these tiny, plastic gems that belong to Asher. He was once fascinated with gems, jewels, and rocks of all kinds. He got this jar of gems as a gift several years back and it has been one of his most treasured possessions ever since.
He plays with them often--arranging them into pictures, decorating Lego creations, and filling tiny chests with pirate treasure for his little brother. As often as he plays with them, I am not surprised to find them in every room as I clean up. Some were in couch cushions or pushed under furniture. Some were laid on window sills or tucked behind picture frames. Many were dislodged from pockets in the washer only to be reclaimed by me from the dryer. But most often, they are simply missed in the cleanup process--left behind to be found by none other than MY bare feet as I walk through the house on my mission.
If you've known me for any length of time, you can pretty much assume my life's motto is "a place for everything and everything in its place." It didn't necessarily bother me to collect them in my pocket to return them to their rightful home, but the sheer volume of them got me thinking... "Not many people would bother with these tiny things. Most would likely toss them in the trash or suck them up in the vacuum, glad to be rid of their annoying presence."
And as I stood there in the bathroom collecting a scoop of gems from the trinket dish, it hit me like a ton of bricks. This is EXACTLY what God does! It was like He arrested my thinking in that instant as a passage from the first chapter of Colossians sprang to memory:
"He was Supreme in the beginning... He is supreme in the end. From beginning to end He is there... So spacious is He, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding. Not only that, but ALL THE BROKEN AND DISLOCATED PIECES of the universe--people and things, animals and atoms-- get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood poured down from the cross."
Maybe you feel like life has carelessly scattered pieces of your world about like once cherished toys now forgotten or discarded. Pieces that once fit into place--made sense--brought a sense of wholeness to the big picture, as in a jigsaw puzzle, now dislocated and jumbled. Maybe you yourself feel cast aside, no longer as desired or indispensable as you once felt, and long to feel again.
Jesus is the collector of broken pieces--remnants of broken dreams and lost hopes. Because of what He sacrificed on the cross--because He was raised back to life from the grave--we can have hope anew! He is tirelessly and relentlessly at work to put all the broken and dislocated things not only together, but together into "vibrant harmonies." Harmonies that breathe life and give birth to meaning and value in our lives. And He doesn't just sit idly by while we figure out that we need Him. He comes looking for us! He pursues us with intention, working within the circumstances of our lives to draw us to Himself. He is so vast--so creative, that all of our pain, confusion, and brokenness find purpose in his redemptive artistry.
Have you ever seen a mosaic? Tiny bits of broken glass or pottery are designed and fit together with intention. What was once meaningless bits (of what some would call) trash are diligently worked together painstakingly over time to create a grand masterpiece. Those bits--that once seemed useless and inconsequential on their own, now a surprising, upcycled display of one-of-a-kind beauty fit together by the Master Craftsman.
That is what God is working to do behind the scenes in your world and mine. We don't always see it, we cannot always make sense of it. We are often too close to 'see the forest for the trees', but God has a higher perspective and the designs of a master artist.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 declares, "He makes ALL things beautiful in HIS time. You and I, my friends, are included in "all things." The things that are your broken pieces today are the very stuff of God's Masterpiece tomorrow. Take heart!
Angie Reynold is a wife mom and daughter of God. During the pandemic, she has taken on the role of teacher for her two young boys. She enjoys reading and bakes. This deeply reflective heart-centered woman also finds time to write for our community.
