Stories.

I love stories. I have always loved stories, especially life stories. Some of my favorite movies are ones that trace a complete life. For example, I love Marley & Me because it traces the family's life through Marley's. Another one I love is The Time Traveler's Wife, for the same reason. And even though that one's a little different since it skips around, it still follows them through their whole lives together. There are so many movies I could name that do this but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

So, why do I love these stories? Because you can see the big picture. At the end of our lives, or in a movie like Marley & Me, you get to start at the beginning, or somewhere near there, & you see it all. You see the good times, & the hard times, & how they grow & come out stronger together. I especially love this in movies about families or marriages. I love it when they grow & just experience the different parts of life together. You see how God is working through it all, & is there every step of the way. But in many cases in our own personal lives, we can't appreciate the defining moments of our lives until later. Sometimes you can pick out moments in movies that you know will be important, or you see it on the previews. In life, there are no previews. God is the only one who knows exactly where our lives will take us, & He certainly hasn't sent me any 2 minute video for a sneak peek lately. We have to follow Him as it progresses.

Something that is so encouraging to me, & has been especially this week in attending the Women's Conference here at school, is that even when we don't know what is ahead, God does. I have heard stories this week from amazing women who are Godly & beautiful & are just overall incredible, but they have dealt with some less than desirable circumstances. They have faced loss of spouses, & miscarriages, & financial troubles, & marriage problems, & consequences from bad decisions of their pasts. But the amazing thing is, they are older, & wiser. And they can look back at things that have happened to them & clearly see that God has used their circumstances & turned them into blessings. Sometimes we get so caught up in our problems & the pain of our struggles that we fail to see how God could use them. One of our speakers this week used the analogy of God being the holder of the puzzle box. It's hard to understand life when we can't see the big picture. It's hard to only have what's right in front of us & not be able to see how God will use it all together to make a beautiful picture of our lives. But He will.

The pieces of our life's puzzle that we have been dealt don't match up sometimes, or don't look right according to what we imagine the picture should be. But the thing is, God is the one who created the puzzle. He has written the stories of our lives. He knows our decisions before we make them, our struggles before they come, & our prayers before any of them are spoken. Even when the pieces we are given at the time don't match the rest of the puzzle, He holds the puzzle box with the final picture on it. He knows where it's going. And He is faithful to stick with us through every trial in our lives until that final picture is achieved.

The stories of our lives sometimes aren't fully understood until the end. Some things will happen that aren't explained until much later. But, we can rest assured that everything truly does happen for a reason, as cliche as that sounds. God has a plan, knows the ultimate ending, & He has already won the war for us.

It really comes down to us trusting His plan & sovereignty even when we don't know how in the world we will get through a situation. Even when we don't know what is ahead, He does. And He will provide for our every need. Because He loves us that much. Isn't that awesome?

Even while we're waiting to get a few more puzzle pieces to add to the picture, we can have peace knowing that it will be beautiful in the end. Our present pain is nothing compared to the glory that is to come. And the wonderful thing, is that many times we are the closest to God when we are having to be dependent on Him through trials. We lean on Him the most when we face what we can't possibly imagine facing on our own. And when He proves Himself faithful through these times, as He always does, we know without a shadow of a doubt that He will be faithful to us in the little things as well. He cares about the details, & He cares about our lives because they all fit together into His ultimate story of the world. The story of His creation.

Our pictures are only a part of the whole completed picture that will one day be complete. Every moment that passes is going to come together to create something beautiful, & will certainly one day be a part of an incredible masterpiece made by an amazing Artist.