What if a renowned painter took his masterpiece and cut it into millions of little bits? Odd-shaped pieces that made no sense on their own, that look funny and incomplete. If you found one on the road you would immediately know this fragment is a part of something bigger. It’s an incomplete picture. A part of a whole.

What if we are puzzle pieces? Cut out of a larger design, meant to find where we fit. Only then can we see more of the beauty that is singularly realized when we are placed next to other people. When we are fitted into the spot we were originally created for.

I think we get a glimpse of this when we figure out what we are good at, the areas in which we excel. For some of us it’s math or a love of language; perhaps standing on a ballfield or painting makes our hearts sing. We discover some skill or passion and think perhaps this is my purpose. It feels good and right to hone in on, say, running or designing or counseling. We are problem solvers, peacemakers or leaders just waiting to find our spot in life. We feel energized and purposeful when we are in these roles.

So many of us are looking for where we fit in. Sometimes it’s within our own family, “What role do I play . . . the planner, the organizer or the comic relief?” Where do we plug into the work force? As the dependable one or the empathetic one? What is a good job for me with my skills and background? What about our communities, be it urban or rural? We might ask ourselves if we take or give, do we help or hurt?

These are the questions all Christians should be asking of themselves. And really it starts with the church. By church, I do not mean a particular assembly or even a physical building, but the invisible church that all believers are part of once they enter the fold. We are fitted to fill a void in the church body. Galatians 6:10: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

It’s interesting that Paul explains the church in just such a way—as a body. “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” (Rom 12:5) A body is only valuable when it is alive and animated, it houses our spirits and our souls, and it is the spirit that is eternal, everlasting and timeless. Just like a person, if all the systems don’t work together, something gets out of whack. We need all of the parts to work in harmony.

Have you ever heard of kinesiology? The basic definition is the study of the mechanics of body movements.

It is not limited to just muscular movements, but internal systems; like how your kidney function effects the rest of your framework. Beyond that even, how the foods we eat and emotions we deal with can take a toll on the functions of our anatomy. I find this study endlessly fascinating. How everything within our body effects everything else, and sometimes it’s hard to figure out where the problems even started? Is it a milk allergy or stress. . . I could talk about this all day.

But as someone who has historically not been a big churchgoer, I have felt challenged on this issue in the last few years. After all, the Bible tells us we need each other. We need other believers, and this was the kicker for me . . . they need us!

I have told myself: I’m in the Word, I’m in Bible studies and prayer groups, I have Christian community, I listen to teachings online. I have described it as a pieced-together church. I have all the elements without the actual commitment to a group of people. I hand-picked my group; these are people I like and get along with, what could be wrong with that?

While there is nothing “wrong” with it, I have come to see that it isn’t the full picture. Our personal friend groups are not the same as a church. When we surround ourselves with easy, amiable and like-minded people, we are not challenged to serve the unlovely or practice patience or self-control as much as we are when in a church setting—be it a huge assembly or a growing home church. It’s easier to sacrifice for people who appreciate me and love me. Now that is great, we should all be so blessed; but what about the more challenging teachings of loving the people who are difficult, if someone asks you to walk a mile, walk two or forgive someone 70x7? Am I called to do these things only in my bespoken group of friends?

Perhaps for some of us it’s easier to serve in a big setting where it isn’t personal and apt to get messy. We can sorta melt away and know others will pick up the slack. While as Christians, we are all in the big invisible church of believers, we are also to plug into a smaller piece of the puzzle. In our homes, workplaces, towns, schools and of course churches. In these places we can bring something to the table, something that might be missing. . . if we didn’t show up. God has shaped us and formed us through our experiences, our natural gifts and acquired knowledge to play a role in the body. To keep it working properly.

Have you asked God what your role is?

Have you spent time in prayer seeking His direction for your life?

What part are you uniquely suited to play?

Sometimes we need someone to pray for us. Last week, I talked to a friend going through a really hard time and she said she couldn’t even pray, I immediately knew my role, I could pray when she could not. What about when someone is tired and weary from struggles, what a blessing if we were to clean their house or make them a meal. When others have questions about the Bible we can meet them for coffee and talk it through. If a friend needs some words of encouragement, we can speak against the enemy’s lies. We all have different strengths to offer our church and community. Nobody is going to ask me to make them a meal, or it they did they would quickly have regrets; but if they are stuck on a biblical principle, I might get a phone call. This is a spot I have been fitted to fill, and I’m really glad there are people I can call to help put my house in order or drive me in bad weather.

We feel how uncomfortable it is to be slotted into the wrong spot. We are called to stretch ourselves for sure, I’ve had to bring a dish to pass (so stressful) while someone else is pushed to witness when its uncomfortable. But I sometimes wish we could have a barter system of spiritual gifts. Could someone come get my house ready for guests and I’ll talk to your co-worker about the Bible. I have actually done this and it’s great. To me this a well-working church body. Trading off our strengths and weaknesses.

This is why we need the church. I need people to speak truth over me, pray for me, expose my delusions when I’m looking at things wrong or believing lies. When we “Walk in the Spirit” we will “by love serve one another.” (Gal 5:13) Once we become believers, this is part of the call on our life. The assignment is greatest in our own homes (and usually the hardest place to walk out the fruits of the spirit). Next is to other believers, our siblings-in-Christ, this is no easy feat either. We often expect more of these people, and yet we all disappoint and need grace and understanding even when we “know better.” When we walk out in the world we often have lower expectations, so in some ways it’s easier to be forgiving and patient. Yet, we serve in all these fields, We are needed and fashioned to bring God’s truth and love everywhere we go, no matter how it’s received. No matter if it’s reciprocated. No matter if we feel equipped or not. No matter if we feel like it . . .

Our gifts are not for us to elevate ourselves, but to bring glory to God. To serve others and point towards His kingdom; away from the temporal towards the eternal, and away from death towards life. Our gifts are a shadow of God’s goodness, that when fitted together with others’ gifts, make a more complete picture of how God designed the church to function.

If we could somehow step back and look at the whole puzzle neatly fitted together, we would see how there was an intentional design all along, with a cross shaped piece right in the middle.

It is only when Christ is at that the center that any of it makes sense. His love brings order to the chaos. Meaning to the meaningless. Value to the mundane. He alone gives us purpose, fitting us into the exact spot we were shaped for in this life.

Further reading:

A lesson from childhood: Sharing

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“It’s the little things in life.”

I love little things. Actual little things. I have written about this before, it was one of my first articles back when I was finding my way with this website. I have changed direction, quit, come back and (once again) asked the Lord what He wants me to do with my love of writing. I felt a pull to write more and with that comes a lot of challenges. I don’t love challenges. I want things to come naturally and work out and then I can say this is so obviously what I’m supposed to be doing because it comes so easy and has such success.

In short, I’m looking for the big things in life. Which is ironic considering my love of little things. I want big successes. Big rewards. Big recognitions. Don’t we all long for this? Look at how well my job is going, how great my kids are turning out, how deep my relationships are, how I’m acknowledged in all my circles, even in the world (perhaps?).

I have my writing awards framed, I want people to see them, to know my worth, my value as a writer.

What accolades do you have under glass or displayed on your fridge? That reward in your field? Or maybe your child’s impressive report card or sports recognition? Maybe you had your picture in the paper or even on the cover of a magazine?

Do we put our families on display? Our businesses? Our best artwork or crafts? Of course we are excited and want everyone to see how great it’s going. To share with the world or at least our “group” the good things happening in these areas.

And we need to celebrate these things! It’s important, it’s fun, it’s lovely to see the wedding pictures, the beautiful children in coordinating outfits (with no fighting) and the first day of the dream job. These are the snapshots of life we put on our desks at work, post on social media and hang in our hallways.

How wild would it be if you sat across from a desk only to spy a picture of the time your accountant fell off his bike instead of the time he won the race? Or what if you went to a playdate and the snapshots were of gum in the hair and tears at bedtime and the third night in a row your kids ate cereal for dinner? What if artists displayed only their first attempts at a forthcoming masterpiece? What if we showcased the review with “constructive” criticism? What if I published my first drafts?

Most people aren’t interested in putting the less than perfect images on display. I know I’m not. I like to put those first drafts in a drawer. I delete the unflattering pictures. I don’t want to talk about the failures, the time wasted, the wrong things said in a meeting or in a hard parenting moment.

Yet, these are the little things that build up to the bigger things.

How many mountaintop moments do we experience? In actuality, life is a lot of little things strung together, like pearls on a necklace. Alone they aren’t that impressive, but all together they can be layered around and around until they are weighty. A statement piece. Set against the background of an ordinary life, these small wins can add up.

What if the real gems are more about our character and our growth than about the actual achievements?

I tend to want worldly victories. I find myself chasing after what my culture says is important. Ironically, that is subject to time and place. These are fleeting, changing goals. Like trying to capture the wind vs building a house on a firm foundation. The older I get the more I want something solid, something unmovable on which to build my value and worth. When I was getting published regularly and winning awards, I felt great about my career as a writer. When I started working on this website, I struggled (and still do), because I no long receive the reward of a paycheck or media recognition. This website is a smaller thing.

What are things in your life that feel small?

Most people tell me their life doesn’t look the way they imagined when they were younger. We dream of the heights with no regard for the valleys between . . . and if you are anything like me, you are actually surprised by the low (difficult) times.

Yet, it is in these lowlands that the little things matter the most.

Steamy coffee sipped on a quiet morning. A summer evening dancing with fireflies. Words of encouragement from a friend. When your children make you laugh. Watching a rainstorm. Time to think. Rest.

These things keep us going. They add up to something bigger. To something better. A life that can find joy even on the darker days. Even when the laundry is piling up and tensions are high at work and your trip just got cancelled. Moments that make us smile or pause from our trials or even just the monotony of everyday life, are bright spots moving us forward (even if its just to the weekend).

More importantly, the same is true in our spiritual life. We have some big moments, like our salvation or our baptism, that are exciting and noteworthy days, but much of our faith is walking out our beliefs in the everyday moments. How do we behave when it gets hard or stressful or even boring? That’s when I find, that “the something solid, something unmovable on which to build my worth and value”, can only come from my life being hid in Christ, my Lord and Saviour. “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6

The little things of our faith add up quickly: daily Bible study, praying (with thanksgiving), resting in the goodness of God, sharing our hope. These practices of our faith sustain us on the trail. We get thirsty and hungry and tired in this race called life. Sometimes there are really big hills that hit when we are the most tired or deep valleys that seem unbelievably lonely. But these not so little, little practices encourage our feet to keep moving.

A Bible verse that speaks right to our heart.

A time in prayer that calms our anxious souls.

Sweet words from a friend.

“Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty (heartfelt) counsel”. Pr 27:9kjv

Every hike starts with one step and then another and then another, all strung together. Small movements adding up to a journey. We wouldn’t leave for a trek without proper provisions. We need energy, hydration and protection from the elements. The Lord has provided all things for his children. We are nourished by his word, watered by prayers and protected in community. Don’t go it alone and don’t go empty-handed.

How many times have you left home and forgotten something? What would you go back for? Your lunch packed in a cooler, your water bottle, your phone? These are things we need and they are worth turning around for. Time spent growing our faith is also worth the sacrifice. Sometimes we need to turn our day around and gather our supplies; sit quietly with the Lord and be filled so we can deal with life, from the mundane to the unexpected.

Yesterday, I was so busy running from thing to thing that I forgot to pack any food. I was feeling over-caffeinated and a little woozy, I needed to eat, but didn’t have time to stop. Next on the list was picking up my son up from a friend and speeding off to camp. I asked his grandmother, if I could heat up my coffee (because more coffee . . .right?) and she offered me lunch! Sometime we just aren’t equipped for where the trail takes us. This is why the Bible says to be in fellowship with other believers. Sometimes we need lunch. She had extra food and I needed a sandwich (a small blessing) that really made a difference in my day.

At times we are dry and weary and need others to motivate us to keep on the journey. We give into the lies and the fears that can plague every Christian. So the Lord sends his saints to offer a weary traveler encouragement. He preserved his Word (the Bible), to teach us the armor of God (Eph 6), to show us the Hope set before us (Heb 6) and to “restoreth our souls” with the poetry of Psalms . His presence quiets us when we pour out our hearts.

I have been reading a book on Puritan prayers (I know, yawn) but they are anything but boring. These prayers are deep and profound, they are so beautifully penned and speak life into my soul when it is weary and tired. These prayers have reshaped the way I communicate with the Lord. A “little thing” that has had a profound impact on my spiritual life.

At every level of our development, the Lord can use us in small and big ways. Are we willing to start in the small things?

Will we commit to being in The Word daily?

Will we carve out time for prayer?

We will speak up when someone needs to hear the truth and encourgment the Bible offers?

Will we act unselfishly when our flesh tells us otherwise?

Small things sparkle in an ordinary life.

Showing God that we are willing to be used, willing to do the difficult things, willing to grow can seem like little things but are often actually the big things.

His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Math 25:21 esv