Connecting the Dots

While we're waiting for our food to arrive at the restaurant, my youngest grandson and I enjoy playing "Connect the dots". I'm sure you've played it many times. Once upon a time, I let him win, but what in the world -- now he skunks me! Remember when we connected the numbers on a page by drawing lines to the next number and soon it unveiled a picture of something?

It's amusing to hear the latest phrases that are coined like "Let's connect the dots". It's used as a metaphor to illustrate an ability to find the "big picture". Yesterday my blog/post was about the action in the new Mission Impossible movie. It was because you never know what's going to happen next. It's what made the movie great. Twists and turns. Ups and downs. Victories and defeats. Fast-paced and, well, a few slowed paced times. But, ultimately, (Spoiler Alert!), the good guys win! The dots were connected and everything came together.

Here's the deal about connecting the dots of our lives. God is the One connecting our dots. We think "Why did that happen?" My most quoted scripture is this one that explains God's way of thinking about the "Whys" in our lives. Romans 8:28 "All things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose." Think about this:

~ Without Judas, the betrayer, there would have never been the death of Jesus on the cross and then be risen from the dead which leads to our salvation.
~ Without the pit and prison, Joseph would have never made it to the palace and receive the highest position of the land to spare His family -- the brothers that betrayed him.
~ Without the lion, the bear and the giant, David would never have become king.

And, what about you and me? What crisis or setback caused you to stretch and pray and ultimately arrive at your present situation that is the one you were hoping for or at least the one that opened the door to the next one? In my case, my husband's illness and passing created this desire and ability to blog and post daily. I started blogging to display our trust and faith in God during some tough times, but it led me to find a new passion and dream new dreams. In your case, it might be that the loss of your job, opened the door for a better job. The pain and suffering you've experienced might have led you to encourage others by using your tests as a testimony of God's amazing grace.

We don't have to know it all and understand everything about this race we're running. Instead of looking to the left or right, we just keep moving forward. We should never fight it if we don't like it. Our setbacks just might be the greatest comeback of all time. God is connecting all the dots for our good. And that last DOT is where it comes all together and we arrive at our ultimate destination -- to live forever with the original DOT MAKER!