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Instant Message
What Happens If... ?
by Clare Cartagena (Clare's bio)
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"Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed” Proverbs 1:6 NIV
Brad is an unusual teen. He is not into sports. He is not into music. He is not into video games. His driving passion is putting together puzzles. He is what you call a “puzzler”. You might even call him a professional puzzler though some of his friends call him a “crazed puzzler”. He started when he was two with big pieces that fit into holes according to their shape. Brad's parents were amazed at his early abilities and quickly supplied him with more challenging ones. He moved on to fifty pieces, one hundred pieces, and then one thousand. There was no puzzle he could not finish in record time. He became so good at it that he could even put a puzzle together with all the pieces turned over.
One day he decided to try something even more difficult. He took two puzzles, one of a country home in the mountains and the other of an asteroid on fire hurling through space. The same company made them both so the pieces were inter-changeable. Brad threw both puzzles together and turned all the pieces to the blank side so he could make one complete puzzle from the pile. When he was finished he turned his creation over. His eyes opened wide. In the midst of the country house were blasts of flames. Dark patches that looked like bombed out holes dotted the mountain. Bits of asteroid littered the sky. His experiment ended with a picture of doom.
Have you ever experimented with your life that way? Faced with choices, temptations, maybe even dreams come true; you could blindly go ahead and do what you want worrying about what happens later.
Brad tried something like that but he was not happy with the results even though the pieces worked.
It's the same with your life. You may be able to cram together pieces that don't really fit with a Christian life. You may even think that as long as everything stays together (and no one can tell) it's okay. Right?
No! Stop and take a look at the picture you're creating. Wow! Are you sure that is what you want for your life? Outside of God's will, nothing is going to be in the right place. There may be bits of the good stuff God wanted but guaranteed there will be a lot of ugly stuff you don't want either.
Don't close your eyes and say “let's see what happens if…” God's word will tell you clearly what will happen. Take a lesson from a puzzler, choose from the pieces in God's box and let Him direct when and where each one should go. When you look at the picture of your life then, it will be every bit as beautiful as a country scene and as dynamic as a ball of fire.
( Check it out: Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 7:13 ; 1 Corinthians 2:9)
Copyright 2002, Clare Cartagena. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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About Clare Cartagena: Clare Cartagena is an award winning published author of devotionals and short stories. Her life is full with her husband of fourteen years, two preteen children, and a career as a chemist. The Lord has captured her heart and drawn her into youth ministry at her church, Church for the Valley, Assembly of God. She considers it a privilege to lovingly support God's most exciting generation of youth ever that not one should perish or miss the awesome love of their Creator. E-mail Clare at ccarta1058@aol.com |
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