There are days, weeks, and maybe YEARS, when you feel like you just don’t fit in. There is a missing piece.
It is such an insecure feeling to think you just don’t belong anywhere, even in your own story. We all feel that way from time to time. There are tragedies and traumas that can completely change the landscape of your life, and make you feel lost in a place that used to be wonderfully familiar.
I have had some events in my life that have left me unsettled and uprooted. I felt like I was a random, misplaced piece of a puzzle, left in some random dusty attic. You do not choose to feel that way; it literally just happens.
Them And You
It can happen from many different scenarios and you are left feeling out of place. It could be the death of a mate. Maybe as a couple, you were best friends with another couple. Your mate dies, and now instead of two couples, there are “them” and “you”. This screams: misplaced.
It could be a job change where everyone knew and adored you, to the new employee where no one knows you, and no one seems to want to know you. This screams insecurity.
You were relocated to another state or another culture. Your misplacement could be as simple (and complex) as a language barrier. This screams frustration.
Many things on this life journey are lurking around every corner. They unsettle you and leave you in a sad heap of lost self-worth.
Embrace Your Worth
If we are to fit in, no matter where life takes us, we have to truly embrace our own worth.
We learn that part of fitting in is being true to the puzzle piece that we ARE!
My worth is NOT contingent on the seasons of life. We remain valuable in EVERY season.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 gives many examples of different and normal seasons of life. “To everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven…”
Missing Piece: My Journey
For me, I went through a season as half of a couple (for 27 years). And now I am in a season of walking alone. I have chosen to step back and find where I NOW fit. This was after a lot of tears and frustration. I now see there were hundreds of other pieces (corners, jagged edges, large ones, small ones) that had to be locked into each other to get me to where I am right NOW! It’s key to realize that this is a journey that takes time!
Here is a prime example of a season of my journey: 15 years ago when my husband died I was not an author. I always wrote poems and songs, but it was never what I would have referred to as “my purpose”.
It.Is.Now.
My writing comes from my journey alone, and I fit in my own story perfectly. I could even venture to say, it feels right. After all that went wrong and felt wrong, now it’s all right. It was a journey of seasons, a lifetime of experiences to get me to THIS exact spot in time (and ON time)!
I am NOT just a random misplaced piece of a puzzle. I am THE missing piece. There was a 500 piece puzzle out there missing just ONE piece to complete it. Yup, that’s ME!
Missing Piece: The same goes for YOU!
We all have great worth, we all belong, and we are all important. You are here to fulfill a specific purpose, and to be the piece that links all the other pieces together.
This my friend, is PURPOSE. I think the word “purpose” is overused but underestimated. The whole point of putting together a puzzle is to finish it and see the final picture. Do not ever think you are NOT important. If this is where you find yourself, you need to buy a 500 piece puzzle; take ONE piece out and throw it in the trash. Then take a couple of weeks to finish the puzzle (in your spare time), and see how the picture looks with ONE MISSING PIECE.
I think you get the picture (pun intended).
#NewDecadeNewHope
