Building People. Spreading Hope.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Missing Puzzle is Coming

I’m not a chef but I like to cook for friends and family. The other day I had some guests from out of town. I wanted to treat them with one of my favorites – aalu-gobi! That’s potatoes and cauliflower in Indian language. I have cooked this dish hundreds of times. It is one of my sure hits. I was in a hurry as the guests were arriving sooner than anticipated.

When we sat down to eat, everything looked fine. My aalu-gobi looked as pretty as usual with chopped up red tomatoes and fresh cilantros sprinkled on top to bring out the vibrant colors. But one bite in the mouth proved something was terribly wrong. It tasted awful; in fact it didn’t taste much at all. You see in a hurry I had forgotten to add salt into my favorite dish. Quickly we passed around the salt shaker and it tasted fine again.


Life is often experienced with a missing ingredient. We may suffer a lingering sickness, lack of sleep, flat finances or a flat marriage. Joblessness haunts us at night. The thought of retirement without enough to enjoy life, drives us to become slave to our career. Misbehaving children can cause a lot of stress. No matter what situation you are facing in life, God is saying, “I will add the missing ingredient.”

My second daughter Sabrina is a very patient person. When she was about ten years old, she put together a box of puzzle with at least five hundred pieces. When she completed the puzzle, it was a beautiful picture of a white horse running on the beach with the moon rising behind the mountains. Beautiful as it looks one piece of puzzle was missing. She was very disappointed and so was I. We looked everywhere but couldn’t find the last piece. We’re both tempted to break it up and box it away. But something inside of me said, “Don’t do it. Life is often like this puzzle. Learn to enjoy the beauty of life despite the missing pieces!”

Years later, the beautiful puzzle still sits on the table where Sabrina had built it. Every time I look at the puzzle with the missing piece I’m reminded, “Enjoy life without the missing pieces. The missing puzzle is coming!”

Many times when life throws us a curve ball, we get so rattled up that we miss the bigger picture in life. A job hunt goes south. Sickness takes the life of loved one or a marriage falls apart. Life can be full of disappointments. But just because one part of your life is not what it was supposed to be doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy the rest of your life. Never let a setback hold you back from a setup.

Today, what is missing in your life? God is saying, “I’ve got the salt shaker. I’ve got the missing puzzle. Will you trust me with the missing ingredient? Will you trust me with the missing puzzle of your life?” Friend, life may not have treated you fairly but another ingredient is coming. God has the missing puzzles of your life. Don’t be discouraged. When we trust God with our WHOLE life He will make sure to make the rest of life to be the best of our life. The missing puzzles are coming back to your life!

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NAS).

Change the World with the Message of Hope: www.buildinternational.org

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