Pieces (Ann)

The night after Christmas, I found myself piecing together a kitchen set with my parents after my daughter had gone to bed. She had opened the gift and was so excited about it...only to realize that it required much more assembly than any of us had expected. After I put my daughter to bed, my parents and I all took a job as we put it together--my dad carefully assembled the pieces, I filed the sharp plastic burrs, my mom put the stickers on the appropriate places. It was a fun exercise and made me appreciate all of the Christmases that had happened when I was a child and I didn't see this part of it--the toys were assembled before being placed under the tree or were carefully assembled at a time when I was asleep or otherwise occupied. I never saw the assembly portion, only the gift. It caused me to pause and reflect on how God does so much "assembly" in our lives during those hours when we are unaware and that most often we only see the blessing that comes as a result. He is always bringing the right pieces in at the right time, putting them together, and carefully filing the sharp edges with blessings to unfold the beauty of His perfect plan for our lives. Thank you, Lord, for all of the pieces that you have assembled without my knowing to create the beautiful blessings that I see!