Merriam-Webster defines mosaic as “a surface decoration made by inlaying small pieces of variously colored material to form pictures or patterns.”

Sunset Wave, by Julie Aldridge

I have often felt mosaic art is some of the most beautiful to behold. What an incredible gift to be able to gather the broken bits and pieces, then use them to create something truly spectacular. Creating mosaic art goes back before the birth of Christ, with the earliest mosaics found in Mesopotamia from the 3rd millennium BC. In my opinion, mosaics date back to the creation of the universe. Each person, plant, animal, rock, and drop of water, all the way down to the last grain of sand on earth, is a mosaic created by God. We are all made of up an incredible number of bits and pieces…physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

We experience a variety of things throughout the course of our lives as human beings. Much like an old automobile, we gather scratches and dings, and sometimes major dents as the years go by. We can become gun-shy about life, keeping ourselves guarded and putting a lot of energy into fortifying the walls around our hearts in an attempt to keep from getting hurt. However, that is like taking the old automobile and parking it in a locked garage to keep it safe from further damage. Logically, this course of action doesn’t make sense. What good is an automobile that is locked up and never used? Wouldn’t it make more sense to put effort into caring for the car, trusting it to a good mechanic for regular tune-ups and superficial repair work to fix the dings and dents gathered as an expected part of actually driving the thing around?

In life, we are undoubtedly going to make mistakes. Some will be insignificant, and some will have seemingly devastating consequences. We go through our days often struggling to fend for ourselves. We tend to feel like it is up to us to keep everything under control, and when we aren’t able to do this, we view the outcome as a failure on our part. I would venture a guess that the majority of us battle a fear of failure more than anything else. When we desperately want something and we don’t get it, we see that as a kind of failure. When we have certain expectations of a situation or from another person, and those expectations aren’t met, we view that as another kind of failure, whether on our part or theirs. Satan has us convinced that failure is a bad thing, and thus, it is something to be feared.

I don’t believe failure should be interpreted as a negative in our lives. I’m not even sure failure is the best word to use in most circumstances… It is far more important that our lives follow God’s plan, than to follow our own. In that sense, it is critical to view the things we don’t get as things we aren’t SUPPOSED to get. Whether that means we aren’t supposed to get them right now, or we aren’t supposed to get them at all, we must trust that God’s decision on the matter is always going to be best. If God has a different plan for us, then we can be certain that path will bring us more happiness and blessings than the path we envision for ourselves.

God has an incredible and unfailing ability to take every negative in our lives and use it for a divine purpose. When we are hurt by another person, we tend to want to shut them out of our lives, because it is hard to trust that they won’t hurt us again. But when we choose to forgive them, we grow in our own faith. We realize that we don’t need to trust them, but instead trust God, knowing that He is always with us and will use all things for our good.

I am secure in the knowledge that, when God brings a person or a circumstance into my life, it is not a trick meant to cause me harm in the end. That is not who God is…He is a loving Father who will never lie to us and never offer us anything in life meant to cause us pain. We, as human beings, will always hit bumps in the road, and will occasionally hurt those we love most in this world. God knows this, which is why He commands us to forgive and love one another as He loves us. He knows that each time we make the choice of love and forgiveness, we are choosing Him over the anger and fear Satan is peddling.

Examine the broken pieces of your life today…we all have them. Consider where you are and the good you have in your life, and then think about those broken pieces and the part they played in getting you where you are thus far. I know that if I hadn’t suffered through the pain of the last couple of years, I would not be living in a place I love, I would not have a wonderful husband who is truly the love of my life, I would not be in a job where I am able to connect with so many amazing people in their time of need, and I would not have the sister God worked so hard to place at my side. If just one of my broken pieces was taken away from my mosaic, I wouldn’t be the person God needs me to be.