Last night I spent the evening in Downtown Pittsburgh alongside the women I teach a bible study with to mothers in addiction recovery. We sit around in the basement of the old apartment building where these women can live for six months as they detox and work toward getting clean and sober. A prerequisite of this program is that the women need to be mothers, either with children or expecting.

The bible says that where two or more are gathered in his name He is present. I can unequivocally say that in that dingy basement, we sit in the presence of the one true God. To see women who have stories to tell that would bring most people to tears, to hear their suffering, their hurt, the childhood they endured that ultimately pulled them toward a life of addiction – and see them open their hearts back up to allow Jesus to do His miracle-working power within them- it is an awesome thing to witness. To hear these women share how God is showing up in REAL ways for them, showing He is with them, that He hasn’t left them or forsaken them, showing them the true meaning of GRACE. It is an incredible thing.

One woman spoke up last night about how she simply feels lost, unable to find purpose in her life and unable to see how God could possibly use her life to bring about “good” when there has been so much “bad.”

Talk about a universal grievance. “Why am I here, Lord?” “God what could possibly be your plan for me and my life?” “God, how could you use me?” The questions that can creep up in all of us if we take time to allow them in.

Now full disclosure- I don’t like puzzles, but my two cents to her was this: I told her I see our lives as one big unfinished jigsaw puzzle. The experiences and seasons of our lives are like small pieces that intricately get interlocked until they begin to come together into a picture that we can make sense of. By themselves, the pieces don’t make much sense. Some have rough edges (the more difficult pieces of our lives), some are easier to discern (the more pleasant pieces of our lives) but when the puzzle is complete the pieces finally make sense. Each piece had a purpose in creating the beautiful picture. Just like each piece of our lives, both the good and the bad, serve a purpose in the tapestry of our lives.

I don’t even believe that we will get to see our finished “puzzles” on this side of Heaven. I believe it will be from above, when we have the “birds eye view,” of the life we lived that we will see how God worked both the mountains and the valleys of our lives out for our good and His glory. Some of the things that happen on this side of heaven are simply beyond our understanding, because no matter how hard we try to know, learn and control everything- we are not God.

I refer to John 16:33 often in our time with these women. It has helped me to settle my mind when I tend to grapple with why God allows certain things to happen in this world that I cannot make sense of, let alone see how they could be worked together for good. The verse reminds us that God never promised a perfect world, a perfect life or perfect circumstances- even to those who follow and love Him. He told us that in this world, on this side of heaven, there would be suffering and hardships- after all, we are only humans. Imperfect beings, flawed and prone to mess up- living amongst a world of other imperfect beings. But what he DID promise, was that in this world He would never leave us or forsake us. That His love for us would never fail, even when we mess up time and time again. And that HE is King, our Redeemer and our Salvation and the one who conquered the grave so that we can one day live with Him in Glory.

I am always in awe of how I can look back and see how God used difficult seasons in my life to be worked out for His glory. If you would have told me at 20 years old that in 16 years I would be sitting in a basement of an old building in a rougher neighborhood of the city, talking to other women about how God has worked in my life and how He alone is the only one who can turn our lives around- I would have thought you were crazy. But that’s our God – He never wastes a hurt or a valley in our lives. He will overwhelm us with His grace and His mercy. When I see my husband and my three kids, I see God’s redemption in my life. They are pieces of my puzzle that I am so grateful for that I can’t help but see God’s grace, goodness and love.

I hope when you feel lost or are having a hard time making sense of a difficult season or circumstance that you will remember that God is still good. He is for you not against you. He is all around us if we open our hearts to and our eyes- He will reveal himself. And just like the women sharing last night, start to think back on some of those difficult pieces in your puzzle and see how God’s goodness was at work all along. And for the pieces that we still can’t make sense of, consider that on this side of heaven we maybe never will. Although it is tough to swallow, it may be where the depth of our Faith is truly tested. Having faith that God really does work things out for good when we simply can’t make sense of how that could be.

Puzzles are difficult (again, I don’t even like building them), It isn’t until the puzzle is complete that you can look down at its beauty and see the mastery of its Creator. I look forward to the day when I will have that “birds eye view” of my puzzle, where I will see how all the pieces of life fit together… and I’ll be able to ask my questions about those difficult pieces to the puzzle maker face to face.

“I have told you these things so that you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33