The Day After Easter...

     What now?  Do we just pack up the bunnies and the eggs?  Do we store the baskets and chow down on the candy?  Easter has come and gone.  Will it be just another holiday, like Christmas?  Do we just put all the decorations away and get back to normal life?
     I can't!  My life isn't normal.  I.  Am. Alive.  I have so much to celebrate with each new dawn and so much life left to enjoy.  Some of you reading this will automatically think about the cancer.  And that's ok.  However, there is so much more.  There was a day, not all that long ago, when sin ruled my life.  That is, until the day Jesus saved me.  I thank God my life isn't normal.  It's an adventure meant to be savored, even on the darkest of days.  It's like working a puzzle.
     I've been enjoying working jig-saw puzzles on my iPad lately.  The brightly colored pieces are usually easier for me to place and the dark, black pieces sometimes seem impossible.  Isn't that what life is like?  We think everything is perfect when we can see clearly and things are going well.  But when things are tough, in those dark times, life seems to become impossible.  I admit that I take advantage of the hints and sometimes pull the background up so I can see where the pieces are supposed to fit.  (You may call it cheating...I call limiting my frustrations.)
     I got a surprise package of puzzles at the first of April.  There are no pictures of what the puzzles will look like.  I can't pull up a background hint.  I just get the pieces and have to put it together.  Sure, after a little while, I start to get an idea of what I'm working with, but there are always surprises before I finish.  I really love working these because I have to stop and look at the detail of the pieces, take my time, and search to see where they fit with what's already on the board.   
     Then I started thinking about my life.  It's like that puzzle.  The days, months, and years are the pieces.  God puts them together and paints a beautiful picture that is constantly changing.  People, places, and events.  He is aware of every detail.  Details I often miss and don't pay attention to.  None of it is a surprise to Him.  You know how sometimes there is just a little dot of color on the edge of the puzzle piece, but you have to look closely to see it and then you search and search for that one other piece it will fit against?  So, as they say, are the days of my life. 

     I believe He has a plan.  I believe He knows what the picture will look like when the last piece of the puzzle is put in place.  He didn't bring me this far to just walk away.  I'll let you in on a secret.  There is one puzzle that frustrated me so much that I just stopped working it.  God's not going to do that, and THAT is NOT secret!  He never gives up on me.  He will never give up on you.  Friend, I tell you assuredly, God has a plan for your life.  He knitted you together in your mother's womb.  He came to earth and suffered death on a cross, a horrible, torturous death.  BUT GOD! In the same way we celebrated last Sunday, we must and should celebrate each new morning because of the resurrection of Jesus.  Because He conquered death and rose from that grave we can trust Him to put the pieces of our lives together, the pieces that are bright and fun and the pieces that are dark and mysterious. 

     So, put the bunnies and baskets away.  Enjoy the candy.  Enjoy living!  Because He lives, we CAN face tomorrow.  Because He lives, we know that each piece of life's puzzle will be perfectly placed.  Personally, I hope there are many, many, MANY more pieces of my puzzle left!