The Gnome and the Puzzle...

We have been playing the game "Gnome under your Dome" at school all week! In essence, four gnomes are floating around and when you ask someone if they have a "gnome under their dome", you have to be honest and give it up if you have one. Sometime today the bosses will call for the gnomes and whoever has one wins a gift certificate. Competition is fierce, coalitions are forming, and deviousness is all around. There is even a "Gnome Abuse Hotline" that has been established. All in good fun, of course!

Now, you may be wondering where I'm going with this one. Me too, at first; however, when following God's lead, sometimes you feel left out of the picture. You wonder where everything fits in the puzzle of your purpose. Where is this leading? What does this have to do with anything? How am I going to make this work?

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” (Proverbs 25:2)​ When we search out the reason, we draw closer to God. We look for His guidance. We wait for Him to reveal Himself to us in the situation. Sometimes we just have to have faith and go with His plan, not ours.

There are also times when we share with others, then their experiences, advice, knowledge, and understanding help to multiply our understanding. Ephesians 4:16 says "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." As the children of Christ, we are puzzle pieces that fit together just like the puzzle pieces of our lives are put together by His hands. We support each other, we can lift each other, and we can be the hands of God. Our purposes are sometimes intertwined just like the players in the "Gnome" game at my school.

And by-the-way, I don't have a "Gnome under my dome", someone just took it AGAIN!!!