It’s Time to Pick Up the Pieces

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed building Legos. Ok, I still enjoy building Legos, but I don’t have as much time for it now.

There are two types of Lego architects:

There’s the- follow directions, use all the correct pieces, build one set at a time- builder. 

Then there’s the other type…. The free-for-all, willy-nilly, do whatever you want-builder.  Also known as “wrong”. 😉

Obviously, I am firmly in the follow directions camp. 

I remember, as a kid, getting one of the big sets—not one of the smaller ones that is just a car or one building or something. This was like the mega set with multiple buildings and little Lego people and moving parts. It was awesome!

It probably took my brother and I several weeks to put it together.  We took our time, making sure that everything was just right.  When we finished the set, we got all of the little Lego guys in just the right spot so that it looked like they were having some sort of Lego battle or something.  We put it on display in our bedroom and were careful to keep it safe, undamaged, and dust-free. 

In fact, I was so protective of it that once we finished building it, we put it on a shelf and then never played with it again.  We kept it clean and made sure everything looked right, but we never used it.

Then, one day, we had a friend over to hang out.  I forget exactly what we were doing. Probably roughhousing or something. This friend threw a pillow across our bedroom.  It hit the Lego set, destroying it in the process.

I was devastated.

I remember being so mad at my friend.  In fact, I probably wasn’t very nice to him.  In the moment, that thing was more important to me than my friend.  I had become too precious about my Lego set.

Unfortunately, we often do the same with our lives.  We spend so much time and energy getting them to be just so.  We work to make sure everything looks good.  And then, we just try to keep our plans protected, safe, and clean.

We’re most concerned with how our lives look.  We want others to look at us and be impressed by how perfect we are.

But what do we do when something comes out of nowhere and destroys our well-constructed life?  When we get that diagnosis.  Or when the relationship ends.  Or we get caught struggling with a secret sin.  What do we do then? It can be easy to feel devasted when our life gets flipped upside down, and it looks different from what we expected.

If we are too precious or protective of our image, we won’t know what to do when the storms of life come.  If we feel like our lives should be nothing less than perfect, we’ll be lost when we don’t measure up.

The truth is, we are all one thrown pillow, one wrong decision, one surprise phone call from our lives crashing down around us.  We need to be ready- while trusting God to protect us- to respond with faith.  We need to prepare ourselves to be able to pick up the pieces and say, “Father, show me how to put this back together.”

Psalm 59:16 shows us how to respond when we face life-changing circumstances:

But I will sing of your strength and will joyfully proclaim your faithful love in the morning. For you have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble.

Are you too precious or protective about your life? If something were to change all of a sudden, if there was some shock to your expectations, what would you do?

Would you shrink back, devastated?

Or would you take the opportunity to say, “God, I don’t know why this is happening.  But you do. I trust you.  Use this time to make yourself known.”

Three ways to know how to pick up the pieces when life gets rough:

1. Prayerfully face each day with an attitude that your life belongs to God, and He has the power and authority to take you through hard times. Not only can He take you through them, but He can use them for your good and His glory.
2. When you do enter a season of brokenness, choose to take it to God immediately.  Instead of running from Him or blaming Him for it, give it to Him to resolve.
3. After you take it to God, take it to your community. It is an incredible thing to receive accountability and support from the people that love you.  Even when it feels intimidating or embarrassing, the friends and family who love us will help us be our best.

We will face times when we feel like a broken Lego. But we have the master builder that can put us back together in the best way!