Bits and Pieces....

"There is a time and a season for every activity under heaven."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

This morning I find myself scattered about in bits and pieces, torn between what I want to do, what I need to do, and what time and date demand I do. I feel much like a little boy I observed at church one Sunday morning. Before church begins some of the parents of the younger children take turns gathering all those little bundles of energy in the gym area to let them run, play, and get all the wiggles out before going to class. A whistle is blown and the tiny tots line up and away they march leaving pleasure behind them.
One morning I came in the back door needing to drop something off in the kitchen area, so I cut through the gym. The whistle had just been blown and everyone had lined up but one little boy. He was still running and laughing with all his might. His father happened to be one of the parent volunteers that morning. He called to his son who did not respond. Again, he called and all he got was a frown. The third time he called as he walked toward his son scooping him up in his arms and gently telling him that it was time to go to class. The wiggly wee one began to struggle and reach behind his fathers back and cry out, "But daddy, I don't want to! I want to PLAY!" I am feeling much like that little boy today, I want to PLAY! My daily duty of household chores remind me that work comes before play. Time and date tell me that there are appointments to be made and kept. The calender reminds me that I am on a deadline, plus the holiday is fast approaching and all that it entails must fall to my responsibility also. Yet, my heart still cry's out, "I don't want to! I want to PLAY!"
Well, I find that in my life God never wastes anything and this little observation did not get wasted, it is just another little life lesson for me. I wondered how many times God had called me to a task that I felt unpleasant and I responded the same as the little boy, "But daddy, I don't want to! I want to PLAY!" Don't we all prefer pleasure over duty? This all a part of the discipline and growth process, in being obedient to the Father and in exercising self-discipline, which is a fruit of the Spirit.
Just as the father scooped up his little one in his arms, God scoops up my bits and pieces of scattered desires and gently puts them in proper order. He reminds me that not all things in life are going to pleasurable and that there will be demands and duties in each of my ordained days, but, He will also give me a time for pursuits of pleasure. His word says that there is a time and a season for every activity under heaven, so I need not fret over anything I want to achieve or indulge in. If I am obedient to the call of duty God will bless me with the time to pursue activities of pleasure.
I am also reminded that what I do for Him will endure forever and not in what is a fleeting pleasure of this world. God gave us all things to enjoy in proper time, place, and perspective. Finding satisfaction in what we do is a gift from God. So today I am asking God to help me find pleasure in duty and to gather up all my scattered bits and pieces of desire and to put them in proper order. Perhaps He can create a pleasurable piece of art with what He finds.

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My prayer for you, dear readers, is that during this busy season you will remain quieted by His love, your time and energy will be expanded and multiplied, the work of your hands will be blessed, and all your scattered bits and pieces of desire will be gathered up and put together in a beautiful work of art that reflects His glory!

Blessings,

Miss Sandy

Photos: Some recent bits and pieces found at a Flea Market and little work of art created with some of them