Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Written by Nilaurys Garcia, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Canada 

I am blessed to say that I have true friends, even if these are not many. Friends that I can share my joys with, problems, and that, above all, they will hold me accountable if at any time I committed to do something and I did not fulfill it. Maybe you're thinking you don't like those friendships but let me explain a little more. I’m talking about those people who are in my inner circle and to whom I have given the right and they have accepted the obligation to help me follow a better path. Those I can be vulnerable with and recount my struggles with, mostly when I need that reminder of who I am and why I should do or not do something.

A word that creates mixed feelings in me is "vulnerability." I would prefer to think that I am strong, and it is easier to keep the mask on that says I-can-deal-with-everything-that-life-throws-at-me. You are probably laughing with me at this moment when you remember all the times that we have fallen, just for thinking like that. If we are honest with ourselves, we can admit that we do not like to be vulnerable, delegate control, or much less be held accountable for our own words. I like to remember Hebrews 10:24 that says, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (NIV)

And one of the reasons I don't like to be vulnerable is because it's easier to get hurt. That's why I can’t be vulnerable with everybody, but only with those who I know won't take advantage of me and won't hurt me. Now, who better to be vulnerable with than God and leave Him all our burdens, as we are invited to do in 1 Peter 5:7. “Cast all anxieties on Him because He cares for you."

Would we be able to leave our burdens, fears and worries to a complete stranger? I don’t think I could do it. It's too risky and I would feel too vulnerable to do it. The good news is that we don't have to depend on or trust a complete stranger. We have a Heavenly Father who only wants our good, would never hurt us, and gave us wonderful blessings as a gift for our lives. In addition, we can have people close to us that we trust and commit to helping each other become better. Yes, it is a commitment. There may not be a ring or a friendship bracelet, but there is the willingness and commitment by each one to make that relationship flourish.

If we want to develop our relationship with God and our inner circles, we need to start by knowing them more, by trusting them and, you guessed it, committing ourselves to being vulnerable with them. In my experience, when my relationship with God is firm, I also can be better with my close people and if I am failing at something, I am convinced that they will help me get back on the right path, even without being asked to do so at the moment. Every time my human nature tries to do what it wants instead of what it was called to do, David’s statement in Psalm 31, verse 14 comes to mind, “But I, Lord, trust in You and say, ‘You are my God.’

Personally, it is a contract or commitment with God, because it is a relationship that began by paying the highest price that could have been paid, the life of Christ crucified on a cross. I would like to invite you to develop a commitment to God based on vulnerability, because that will then lead you to develop an intimate circle that gives you the support, joys, correction, and everything you need to get closer to God. Remember that we are not alone and are immensely loved, but… yes, there is a “but,” we must be willing to trust if we really want it to work out.

Puzzles are a great analogy for life. We get all excited when we finally find the place where each unique piece goes. We get frustrated when pieces don’t fit, or when we can’t figure it out. And when we step back to look at the big picture, we realize that each piece of the puzzle has its place and is no more important than another.

I enjoy jigsaw puzzles. They are relaxing to me. They are also a tangible reminder that while I cannot see where each piece of my life fits yet, God sees the big picture and knows that each piece will find its place, in His timing.

Sometimes I have to let a piece go and set it aside. By stepping away and coming back to it later, I can see more clearly where it should go. Oh, the applications and comparisons to many of my life struggles!

Puzzles help me put it all back in perspective because I am trusting that the person who created the puzzle designed each piece to be unique and fit in only one right place.

However, the other day, I started working on a jigsaw puzzle that was so poorly designed that I had to give up on it. A garage sale purchase, I was excited to pull the real wood pieces out of the box. The European outdoor coffeeshop scene was inviting and its vibrant colors would be fun to see come to life as the pieces connected to one another... or not.

As I started to separate the pieces, searching for edge pieces, I noticed that every single piece of the puzzle had the same shape. There were slight variations, minor height differences in the openings where the adjoining piece fit, but essentially, they were all the same. Yes, the colors were different, but with the shapes the same, pieces could interconnect that in no way belonged next to one another. What?! How was I supposed to know what piece goes where?!

Determined to not let this puzzle get the best of me, I started with the edge pieces. Even there, I proceeded with doubts about whether or not the adjoining pieces were in their correct position. If I messed up now, it would create even more problems as I tried to complete the inner sections. This puzzle was far from relaxing...

Okay, I’ll move to the pieces that have writing on them because then I will feel more assured that I have the right pieces in the right place, confirmed by the readable words. Yet, as you can see in the picture, even that presented its challenges.

Frustrated and confused, I put a few pieces together in the wrong way intentionally, snapped the picture you see with this post, and sent it to a few friends, inviting them to a laugh and to commiserate with me. Misery loves company, right? And laughter is the best therapy?

Invigorated by the laughter and commiseration, and also, not being one to give up easily, I tried a few more times to see if I could figure out a system for putting this diabolical puzzle together. Nope. No way. After finally admitting that this puzzle would be nearly impossible to ever put together, I decided it was time to let it go because
1. I didn’t have clear-enough vision to see where each piece fit nor recognize the nuances of color changes between the pieces.
2. I was not familiar enough with the scene depicted to know the section where each piece belonged.
3. While I could’ve forced things to go together in ways that physically fit, it would be completely inaccurate and would not mirror the original design of the puzzle.

Admitting defeat, I packed up the puzzle and put it back in its box. And as I did so, I remembered a few truths about God as they connect to the theme of Finding Our Function.
1. God sees the big picture and knows better than anyone where we each fit in the kingdom and what pieces of our own lives need to fall into place when, in order for us to fulfill our function in the kingdom.
2. God, our Creator, has not designed the puzzle of our lives to frustrate us, nor is He hiding the blueprints of the planned place where we each fit.
3. God’s purpose for our lives is to mirror Him, to be transformed into the image of His Son, in accordance with the fearfully and wonderfully made way He formed each of us in our mother’s womb. When we mirror Him, we can proceed with confidence, knowing our function and the place where we fit.

I pray we can each learn to trust our Creator to fulfill His ultimate design in our lives individually and as unique pieces in the puzzle of the kingdom.