I ran into an old friend today and we swapped stories and caught up on the last few years. I realized that with each re-telling of the events of the last four years I gain another insight into my life, or someone shares a nugget of wisdom about my situation.
This friend listened to me explain how I was somewhat bitter about the years I spent educating myself to work in church ministry, only to be dismissed over and over again by clergy and the hierarchy. She listened carefully then reminded me that nothing we pursue in life is in vain. Each experience, each tragedy, each triumph is part of the plan.
Later I received an email that told me I was being considered for a position in a church. They were excited about my qualifications and would be in touch soon. After many, many disappointments I am cautiously optimistic about this development. Still, I could not help but notice the timing of this e-mail so soon after my conversation.
As I talked it over with my love, he said, "another piece in the puzzle." Yes, the plan is similar to a puzzle, where nearly all the pieces have to be in place in order to see the "big picture."
The problem is that I thought this was one of those children's puzzles; the eight big pieces put into place and ta da, I get the picture. I now realize this plan is actually a big 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, and my life is being arranged one tiny piece at a time."
Somehow that doesn't upset me as much as I thought it would.
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