As I get older, I look back on my life and wonder what it would have been like if I’d made different decisions along the way. What if I’d done that volunteer job after college instead of letting my mother scare me out of it? What if I’d gotten a fulltime teaching job? Taken my writing career more seriously from the start? Travelled to distant lands when I was young? How would that have changed my life?
But the question that really concerns me is “Have I made a difference?” Has my life had any impact on the world around me? When I was young, I thought I could change the world—or at least my part of it. But then I got caught up in raising a family, homeschooling my boys, earning money so those boys could go to college. I taught Sunday school and did a little volunteer work. I wrote some articles, devotions, and children’s stories that I hoped would encourage others. All ways I tried to do my part, to serve God and the community. But did I succeed?
Then it hits me. I’m asking the wrong question. Did I succeed? Because it isn’t about me—even though my ego makes it that way. The better question: Have I allowed God to mold me and use me as He sees fit?
My life is one little puzzle piece in a beautiful jigsaw puzzle. How my piece fits in can’t be seen until the entire puzzle comes together. And that won’t happen even in my lifetime. Maybe my piece is not about writing or teaching Sunday school. Perhaps the sons I’ve raised will make a difference. Perhaps a few words of encouragement will help someone else to complete their puzzle piece. Or maybe actions I’ve entirely forgotten are really more important than anything I have written.
Have I made a difference? Am I opening my heart to God and letting Him use me to help those around me? Perhaps someday in heaven we will be allowed to look back and see our lives from God’s perspective. Then we will learn how our lives fit into His plan. We will finally see our puzzle piece as part of a beautiful picture. I have a feeling the most important moments in our lives will not be our big accomplishments, but everyday gestures of love and encouragement.
Puzzle from Out West Photography: https://www.facebook.com/Benjie.J.King (the completed puzzle shown in pieces above)
