Thank you for hearing me and caring about what I have to say. Thank you for guiding me through this life with kindness and patience, all the while teaching me in ways big and small. You’ve blessed me with amazing parents, family, teachers, coaches, leaders, pastors, colleagues, and friends. All have added to the mosaic.
Unlike the mosaic art, we are not fixed. That is our pieces can move and change. They can increase in prominence, or disappear entirely. They can blend in with the colors around them or stand out in contrast.
Lord, thank you for this metaphor for the structure and development of the whole person.
A puzzle may be an apt description as well. The pieces of a puzzle are predestined to be part of a whole in a particular and specific way. If we try to fit it in anywhere but where it’s intended to go, it doesn’t fit.
We spend our lives trying to ‘put it all together’ and ‘figure it all out.’
Of the two, I prefer the mosaic. Unlike the puzzle, with its predetermined dimensions and static outcome, a mosaic is not limited. It can be whatever the creator wants, bright or dark, small or large, complex or simple. It can be a floor, a wall or a ceiling or none of these. It can be a feature attraction of a room or it may merely blend in.
The pieces may be tiny or large. The smaller the pieces, the finer the detail, the greater the complexity.
Some of us have many who contribute pieces to the mosaic that is us. Some of those contributors bring positivity, righteousness, and joy. Some bring darkness, division, and conflict. Others provide a vital background and context that brings the subject to greater clarity.
Lord, thank you for being the creator of the mosaic that is me. Thank you for bringing so many contributors, each adding a piece or two or a thousand. Some of them knew full well and intended to contribute pieces – my parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, and many more. Many others had no idea that they were contributing pieces to me. A few may have known and didn’t care. But not many.
Lord, as the creator of me, you alone know what the final product will look like. You choose the unique, one-of-a-kind structure, appearance, and purpose for the completed work. You move pieces around based on what else happens to me, adjusting and maintaining the overall vision you have for my life.
You always finish the work you start and you always deliver exactly the finished product you intend. I know and trust that you have promised this:
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart…” Jeremiah 29:11-13
Lord, my mind cannot conceive of the actual complexity you use in the creation of your people. The mosaic metaphor is a simplistic way to begin to describe the vast array of options you have available. Each one of us, your creations, unique down to a cellular level, each seemingly similar person actually very different from any other.
Sometimes it’s hard for us to remember that we are each a unique, exquisite work of art, created by the artist of all artists. Whether human beings can understand or appreciate the beauty of a particular work is not the point. The point is that you, Lord, created each of us exactly as we are supposed to be.
For those reasons, anyone who hates another person is criticizing you, the creator, and that cannot be. It is our limited vision and understanding that raises and condones hate.
Hate is not from you. It is from the enemy, who lies and manipulates us exploiting our limitations, sins, and faults. He wants the exact opposite of what you want. He wants us to hate one another and turn away from you. And the further we drift away from you, the easier it is for the enemy to get traction on his evil intent to ruin and doom us.
Because of all of this, I resolve to follow you as closely as I can. It is likely that I will still stray now and then, but help me get back onto the path and following you quickly so that my thoughts and actions are not polluted by the lies and attacks of the evil one.
I am grateful for your guidance, for the gifts you give me to carry out my purpose, and for the love and patience you show me as you grow and shape me throughout all of my days. I love you very much.
In the unfailing name of Jesus, I pray, AMEN!
Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day. God bless you!
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