Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Ready to Assemble

There is something both satisfying and horribly annoying about ready to assemble items. The ability to get it from store to home in a box and the satisfaction of accomplishment when it's put together are priceless. The colorful language and poor attitude directed towards a less than helpful set of hands or anyone who dares interrupt the process, not so much. Those two things have a huge cost.

Now Lego's on the other hand, have their own special category somewhere lodged between the spawn of Satan and divine intervention. If you unsuspectingly step on one, they are the spawn of Satan. If they unleash your child's creativity and keep them occupied for hours, divine intervention. If you are missing a piece or it breaks apart because it gets knocked over, spawn of Satan. If your child puts it all together alone and their face is beaming, divnie intervention. You get the point.

While Lego's should theorhetically be put together easily, the more complex the structures have become has impacted the assemly process significantly. Case in point: The Lego Dolphin Cruiser.


This box has 612 pieces. 612. And while I can't say I am certain about the label on the front, I am reasonably sure the choking hazard warning has a double meaning.

Does it come with a book? Of course1 With pictures that are about as beneficial as a hot fudge sundae without a spoon. 



You get the point.

And yes, each page is numbered. And yes, it is supposed to be self-explanatory. But it's never without drama or a piece that isn't missing but rather camoflauged on the carpet.

Now my dad, the brilliant man that he is, taught my man child to use bowls. If you tear apart the bags that come in the box and keep the bagged pieces together in a bowl, the process seems to move along at a much steadier pace. This is good. And if you take your time and follow each step carefully, you end up with a beautiful and intricate finished product. This is better. 

Now, you may or may not recall that a few days ago I wrote about the yoke that Jesus offers each of us is a design original. Yours is different than mine, different than my husband's, different than my kids. We might all be cut from the same cloth, but our gifts, talents, burdens, and callings are all very different. And Jesus is offering us our own yoke that I see as a customized lego box. Each piece is built into the finished product in its time, over time. And no part is extra and every part is important.

Now, do you remember the story about the wise and foolish builders in Luke 6? Let me refresh your memory.

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practic is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. 

I have personally become convinced that every day Jesus is trying to tell us something. Something we need to know, remember, and do something about. And if we were to become as intentional about listening for his voice and building our houses, yokes, and lives around his instructions, not only would we save ourselves a lot of heartache, but we'd stand out in ways that would attract others who do not know him.

A few years ago my woman child got that Dolphin Cruiser for Christmas. And for many months it sat completed, looking like a work of blood, sweat, and tears art. But now? It's mostly disassembled in a rubbermaid tote. Why? Because guests of hers took it out for a spin and it fell completely apart. If we aren't building our lives on Jesus, and if we aren't following his instructions about how we are to wear the yoke he's made for us, our lives are going to end up the playground of the world. And we will do nothing but strive to reach what we know we were made for but can't achieve because the pieces we've been given are either out of place or missing.

So how about this. Let's start choosing today to listen to the only voice that matters and always has our best interest at heart. And when we do, we'll be sure to see the masterpiece God created when he said, "Let there be you."




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