"Have you not read this scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.'" ( Mark 12:10)
How essential is Jesus in your daily walk? Do you feel cornered by life?
I vividly recall my grandparents' house. They've gone home to Heaven now, but growing up I visited their home every week. I remember everything: the weird smell of the house, the uncomfortable but "classic" furniture, the heavy aroma of perfume (why do grandmas always wear so much?), the two-ton, old-school television without a remote, something called a "record player"…I remember it all.
I vividly recall my grandparents' house. They've gone home to Heaven now, but growing up I visited their home every week. I remember everything: the weird smell of the house, the uncomfortable but "classic" furniture, the heavy aroma of perfume (why do grandmas always wear so much?), the two-ton, old-school television without a remote, something called a "record player"…I remember it all.
I also remember how happy it made my grandmother when we would come to visit each week before she died. I remember her smiling from the time my mom and I entered until we left. I remember sitting at the little, off-balance table in the kitchen, eating brownies that she had taken a day to make (a sacrifice I didn't understand at the time). I remember pretending to like her iced tea. I remember how the toilet ran for an hour after I flushed it. I remember it all.
Mostly, I remember the jigsaw puzzles. How many of my elementary school days were spent doing puzzles at that kitchen table with my grandmother? Innumerable. We would put all the pieces out, turn them all face up, prop up the picture of the puzzle from the box top and then (as any puzzle enthusiast knows) immediately find and assemble the CORNERS of the puzzle. Once those corners and the "frame" of the puzzle were in place, it was a race against the clock. We usually finished pretty quickly. I was a puzzle madman – not a trait that scores you many dates, but, then again, I was still in elementary school.
Once, though, we attempted to do the puzzle without putting the corners in place. Successful we were not. Her energy gave way to fatigue; my childlike joy to childish bratty-ness. We never finished the puzzle because we had abandoned our foundation: always get the corner(s) in place, first.
If your life is anything like mine, it is a puzzle. You ask God 'why' certain things happen. You wonder what is coming your way. You ponder the past and regrets; sins and struggles rear their heads. Basically, you try to get your bearings and to discover how all of these various "pieces" of life fit together. You attempt to solve the mystery of your life and see the "bigger picture", God's picture. Sometimes you may have luck but usually you are left flying almost blind, not sure what to expect next.
But if you're honest, isn't that awesome, that life is so unpredictable? Sure, it makes it more difficult, and forces you to trust more, but, truthfully, isn't that more fun? Life should be unpredictable, it forces us to rely on God more than upon ourselves. Who wants to ride a merry-go-round when you can strap yourself into a roller coaster?
IF Jesus is central enough in our lives, there are no worries. Let Jesus be the "corners" to the jigsaw puzzle of your life. That is, essentially, what today's scripture passage is speaking about – having Jesus as your cornerstone, making HIM the foundation you build, and piece together, your life around and upon. That is what we pray at every Mass when hear the words, "Through Him, with Him, in Him", it should remind us that in all ways we need to keep Jesus Christ primary in our lives, that we only function by the grace of Jesus.
At the time, I thought my grandma just loved puzzles. Little did I know that it was not the puzzle that she relished, but the time spent with her grandson. The same is true of our Lord. It's less about "how fast" you can solve the puzzle that is your life, it is about being willing to REALLY enter into life, to recognize the world around you, to sit with Jesus, in the flesh. Spend time with God today. Allow Him to show you the frame of your life, your vocation, within which He has a beautiful picture drawn and planned (Jer. 29:11), if only we are willing to spend the time piecing it together, with Him at our side.
Mostly, I remember the jigsaw puzzles. How many of my elementary school days were spent doing puzzles at that kitchen table with my grandmother? Innumerable. We would put all the pieces out, turn them all face up, prop up the picture of the puzzle from the box top and then (as any puzzle enthusiast knows) immediately find and assemble the CORNERS of the puzzle. Once those corners and the "frame" of the puzzle were in place, it was a race against the clock. We usually finished pretty quickly. I was a puzzle madman – not a trait that scores you many dates, but, then again, I was still in elementary school.
Once, though, we attempted to do the puzzle without putting the corners in place. Successful we were not. Her energy gave way to fatigue; my childlike joy to childish bratty-ness. We never finished the puzzle because we had abandoned our foundation: always get the corner(s) in place, first.
If your life is anything like mine, it is a puzzle. You ask God 'why' certain things happen. You wonder what is coming your way. You ponder the past and regrets; sins and struggles rear their heads. Basically, you try to get your bearings and to discover how all of these various "pieces" of life fit together. You attempt to solve the mystery of your life and see the "bigger picture", God's picture. Sometimes you may have luck but usually you are left flying almost blind, not sure what to expect next.
But if you're honest, isn't that awesome, that life is so unpredictable? Sure, it makes it more difficult, and forces you to trust more, but, truthfully, isn't that more fun? Life should be unpredictable, it forces us to rely on God more than upon ourselves. Who wants to ride a merry-go-round when you can strap yourself into a roller coaster?
IF Jesus is central enough in our lives, there are no worries. Let Jesus be the "corners" to the jigsaw puzzle of your life. That is, essentially, what today's scripture passage is speaking about – having Jesus as your cornerstone, making HIM the foundation you build, and piece together, your life around and upon. That is what we pray at every Mass when hear the words, "Through Him, with Him, in Him", it should remind us that in all ways we need to keep Jesus Christ primary in our lives, that we only function by the grace of Jesus.
At the time, I thought my grandma just loved puzzles. Little did I know that it was not the puzzle that she relished, but the time spent with her grandson. The same is true of our Lord. It's less about "how fast" you can solve the puzzle that is your life, it is about being willing to REALLY enter into life, to recognize the world around you, to sit with Jesus, in the flesh. Spend time with God today. Allow Him to show you the frame of your life, your vocation, within which He has a beautiful picture drawn and planned (Jer. 29:11), if only we are willing to spend the time piecing it together, with Him at our side.
Don't be puzzled by life, hold onto Jesus as your foundation, your cornerstone, and the picture will become clear…in time.
Feeling cornered or puzzled by your life? by Mark Hart at lifeteen.com
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