Missing Piece

It has been a very stressful and overwhelming week.  Some more health concerns have come up with Jim, and coping or should I say “trying to cope” as I watch him experience relentless pain is wearing me down.  On top of that, Mom was moved to an assisted living facility on Wednesday.  I’ve spent the better part of Friday, Saturday and Sunday sorting through her belongings, something that’s been very emotional for me.

Looking at the different things Mom has collected over the year and making decisions on what to get rid of, left me with a sense of loss.   It made me think about how possessions that mean so much to us is just “stuff” that one day will be tossed aside or belong to someone else, and that person will never know the value that our belonging held to us.  I thought about  how fleeting life is, how the things are that we collect and treasure are temporary, and that they are nothing more than “stuff” that holds no value when it comes to eternity.

On Saturday, we worked on moving some of the furniture out of her house.  After the bed was moved out of the spare bedroom, I couldn't help but smile when I saw three puzzles under the bed.  Mom loves to put puzzles together and had started putting them on bulletin boards when she finished them.  Apparently she had someone slide them under the bed for her.   One of the puzzles was one that we thought actually came missing a piece.  The day I gave it to Mom we opened it up and put all the pieces on her kitchen table.   She always works the border to the puzzle first, then fills in the pieces.  I helped with the border, but we couldn't find one of the top pieces.  We sorted through the remaining pieces as we worked the puzzle, but never could find it.  As the puzzle neared completion it was obvious there was a missing piece.  I searched everywhere for the piece to no avail.  I even wrote down the information on the puzzle box with the intention of contacting the company to see if other people had reported a piece missing.  Somehow it fell on the back burner and I forgot all about the missing piece until Saturday.

The puzzle with the piece still missing brought back memories of putting the puzzle together and being disappointed that we weren’t able to put in the last piece.   It was one of Mom’s favorite puzzles and the picture was such a unique picture I had even thought about framing it.   After the bed was moved out of her room, I walked around picking up things and sorting through them.  That’s when I noticed a puzzle piece on the floor where her bed used to be.  Picking it up my first thought was that  there was no way this was the piece I had search so diligently for.   Not just because it was in her bedroom, but how could it have ended up under her bed?  Amazingly enough, it was the missing piece and I believe finding it was one of those moments in life I call a “God thing”.  It was truly an emotional moment for me as I felt like He was saying, “Molly, I’ve got this situation with your Mom covered, just as I have with every other aspect of your life.  Trust me as I put the pieces of the puzzle together”  Not only does He see all, He knows all and is putting the pieces together of life’s puzzle in ways I can’t imagine.  As always I need to place more trust in Him and His plan for my life, a lesson if faith that I am continually learning.

Psalm 91

We talked to Chance Friday night for a few minutes, then got an email from him telling us that he would be calling early Saturday morning. Saturday morning came and went without a phone call. After talking to him Friday night and reading the email, we put 2 and 2 together and realized that he was out on a mission and apparently things were worse than anticipated. I had prayed for him off and on, but as the hours came and went without a word from him, I set down and spent some time reading Psalm 91 and the other Bible verses I use to pray for protection over him. I kept saying that no weapon formed against him would prosper and telling God that I was standing on His promises to protect Chance.

I woke up several times during the night, each time saying a prayer for Chance’s safety and the safety of the guys with him. At 7:17 Sunday morning Chance’s girlfriend, Kellie sent me this text, “He’s OK!” Those two words brought a flood of relief to my soul and I texted her back, “Praise God!”

A little later Chance called. What started out as a two hour mission around midnight Friday lasted through early Sunday morning. It turned out to be a major battle in Afghanistan, ending with 33 insurgents killed and no injuries for our guys. Of his three deployments and the many missions Chance has been on, this was probably the most intense battle he has been in.

Most interesting is the text that Kellie sent me later Sunday afternoon. Every day since Chance deployed, she googles the number of days he has left, picks a random fact about that number and emails him the fact. Something so simple, yet something he looks forward to getting every day when he can check his emails. Kellie’s text was to let me know that on Saturday, Chance had 91 days left and she chose Pslam 91 for his random fact. Not so random, when you think about it. One of the most dangerous missions Chance went on, happened to be on day 91 and his girlfriend chose Psalm 91 for his fact, now even knowing what he was going through. That in itself was confirmation that God’s protection is over Chance and I need to trust Him more and let go of my fears. It never fails to amaze me how God sends us subtle messages to get His point across.

One short paragraph...

To say it is interesting the sometimes subtle ways that God gets our attention, is an understatement! Yesterday I received one of those emails that you’re supposed to read, and then forward to your friends. Every time I get one of those emails, I automatically hit the “delete” button. There was nothing in this email that was of interest to me except for the first paragraph. It wasn’t even worded very well, but when I read it, I immediately knew there was a reason I had received the email. It read, “ God doesn’t give you the people you want; He gives you the people you NEED... to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.”

I immediately thought of a couple of people in my life who I don’t like, nor do I want to be around. That one little short paragraph, made me realize that if God only put people in my life that I like, it would hinder me in becoming a better person, and living my life in a way more pleasing to Him. I count it as a huge blessing that God has put so many people in my life that I really, REALLY love and enjoy being around. Then there are the people that I prefer to stay away from. Thinking it over made me realize that, in a sense, there is even a bigger blessing that comes from having them in my life. Those are the people who will help make me into the person that God wants me to be. They are in my life to teach me patience, tolerance, forgiveness, and most of all unconditional love. The reality of it all, put me on my knees asking God for forgiveness in the way I have reacted, and felt about different people in my life. Thank you God for getting the message across. Point taken!