Patchwork Pieces

A journey through seasons of life can appear like patchwork pieces of a quilt. We only see the present, look back at things in hindsight, and try to look beyond trying to catch a glimpse of the future. A road trip through my life right now would be journeying through rolling hills, flat green and sometimes dry land on my way to another month of learning the art of practicing medicine. 

Driving through rural areas I see contrasts of color against blue skies, green grass, and sometimes the ripples of a lake. I love the changing colors of the trees in Autumn, how the colors of fire, wood, oceans, grass, sunsets, and sunrises all mix together as a tree conserves its life and releases its leaves. 

On the inside the production of chlorophyll slows down. This substance of the tree makes trees green in the spring and summer and it also represents growth. As it slows down it leaves carotenoids and anthocyanin unmasked revealing the many different hues of golden oranges and reds and bronze. The timing of change is different for each species of tree yet winter is always a certainty. 

The tender green leaves would die in the freezing cold weather so the tree has to toughen up to preserve its life in order to reawaken in the spring. Stems, twigs, and buds are equipped to face the wintry conditions unlike the leaves. Still, these fallen leaves provide nutrition for the ecosystem below. Though winter is the inevitable each tree has to face, so is the hope of each coming Spring. 

From the inside out our lives reveal the continual change and growth that we face in this journey through seasons of life. Just like that quilt of patchwork pieces, we put together the pieces of each season. It's never the same leaf, fruit, or flower that is visible and the seasons that come vary. Yet, it's the same breathe of life flowing, threading through our veins. 

Through all these seasons we choose daily to trust, to love, to care, to win, to succeed, to choose life or to choose death. This is what makes each patchwork piece so unique.

The phrases below are put together in patchwork pieces just as our lives simply seem to be pieces of a much grander puzzle. What we often see and our view of life is myopic. Things may not be as you want them to be but with God all things work together for good and for His glory. We can trust in the life He gave flowing in and through us. We can place our faith in knowing we are trees planted by streams of living water. We can also revel in the knowledge that not only the fruit we bear brings nourishment and hope to others but so do the leaves that fall revealing beauty from our growth and change. 

There is a season for everything under the sun. A season to learn, to grow, to enjoy, to plant, to harvest, to mourn, to laugh, to search, to find, to love, a time for war and a time for peace.* Most importantly I hope we go through a season of seeing and coming to understand the greatness of God's love. Our lives gain a greater meaning and our eyes are open to a greater dimension and depth because of God's love. Hopefully this season gives you the much needed life to recover from the past and press forward through the rest. 

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Words fail. Talk is cheap. Actions mean so much. Character changes, sometimes. Perfection never is. Control is uncontrollable. Relationships fade. Friendships wilt away. And life rushes by. People think money equates success. For others dreams are no longer a reality. Some have strength of will with no quality. Beauty becomes skin deep. With all living without consequence

Life has to mean so much more. Love has to be real. There must be something to believe. Adventure should be calling. With a passionate appeal

Trusting with heart and mind. Learning to let go. Reasoning rejected. Desires transformed. A life revolutionized. Faith unveiled. 
Crazy love revealed. Born to die. Life to give

Death exchanged

Sin crossed out. Shame replaced

A beautiful exchange

Glory illuminated the source

Christ revealed

Salvation is here

   

Victory comes. Freedom delivered
A life worth fighting for
Conviction exposed. Reliant confidence
In a love worth living for
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*[Ecclesiates 3]