Today, I am delighted to welcome my wise friend, Lisa Burgess, to encourage us as we pray: Lord, make us one.

One year ago I felt too busy. Even though I enjoyed the weekly activities I volunteered for, they were wearing me down. What could I cut?

And then…shutdown. All around the world, we cut out activities.

I went from being too busy to feeling left out.

Where did I belong anymore?

I began working jigsaw puzzles at home, previously reserved only for Christmas breaks. I finished one puzzle. Then two, then three, and more. For my final puzzle of 2020, I couldn’t find a green puzzle piece to fit into the grass scene. I kept looking and looking. Is this what my life had come to?

Your life was likely disrupted by the pandemic too. Maybe your normal activities came to a screeching halt, or else ramped up to breakneck speed, depending on your job.

If the latter, you may have felt you no longer fit in with the rest of the world who were waiting out the pandemic at home.

Or if the former, like me, you may have felt isolated at home, as life rumbled on without you.

We all occasionally feel disconnected, like we don’t belong. Sometimes it’s only due to circumstances. I could no longer volunteer at the school library because schools were closed. I couldn’t deliver meals to our local housing unit because they no longer allowed visitors. 

But other times, disagreements divide us. We unfollow a Facebook friend because their political leanings disturb us. Or we drift apart from our neighbor because their COVID protocols don’t match our own.

We are a world divided.

Whether by circumstances or by disagreements, being outside the circle is the opposite of Jesus’s desire for us: to be one (John 17:11).

Jesus said our unity would be a sign to the world that He indeed came from God (John 17:21).

But instead of unity, even among believers, is the world only seeing division?

Lord, make us one.

How can we fulfill Jesus’ command to be one when we’re so splintered?

As I continued working my jigsaw puzzles in 2021, I began to regain my sense of belonging. Just as each piece of a puzzle is necessary to complete the picture, regardless of its position, its color, its shape, I am equally necessary in the world God placed me, no matter my level of activity (or inactivity).

I am a piece of the puzzle. You are a piece of the puzzle. And together we create the picture that God designed for this point in time. When we fit together, we are in unity.

Regardless of our different political parties, our different church affiliations, our different contributions to the world, we are each an important piece of the puzzle.

Yet we are only one piece each. Mother Teresa, with all her accomplishments, was still only one piece. You in your situation are only one piece. And I in mine.

It’s humbling. But might humility be our stepping stone to becoming one again?

Just as Christ emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant (Philippians 2:5-8), so we also can humble ourselves to serve each other, no longer valuing one person above another, nor degrading one as less than the other. Humility is our act of love.

And love holds all things together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:14).

Can we return to love? 

Lord, make us one.

With only a dozen puzzle pieces remaining in my final puzzle of 2020, the green piece was still missing. I looked under my kitchen table, underneath the recliner, even on top of the piano.

I never found it.

I finished the puzzle anyway, then crumbled the pieces back in the box, with a sticky note for the next person: “One piece missing, 12/20.”

Thankfully, “one piece missing” is NOT the pattern God created for our world. Regardless of what the pandemic has stripped away or added to your agenda, your location in the puzzle remains steady. Stay interlocked with every piece beside you.

This is our space in the puzzle, our place in time.

Each piece is valuable. Every piece is wanted. Not because we’re all the same, but because we’re all different. God has joined us together. And together, we complete the picture, even when we can’t see it. 

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:11, ESV

Let’s pray big “Lord, make us one” and humbly love each other as a valued piece of this puzzle.

Lisa Burgess looks for God in ordinary people and everyday moments. Then shares where she finds Him on her blog, LisaNotes.com. She’s a wife, a mom, and her newest role, an on-the-floor-playing-with-babies, Granna.

Connect with Lisa on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

The Pray Big Sisterhood

Every morning, I wake up and lift my heart to God in prayer.

I praise Him for His glory and goodness.

I surrender my agenda and expectations to His greater kingdom purposes.

I yield my desires to do His will.

And, then I ask for Him to move a mountain.

I cry out to Him for that mountain to crumble.

I believe that God is bigger than any obstacle or stronghold.

Yet, my mountain remains — immovable and unyielding.

Do you have a mountain?   I bet you do.

Like me, you may be discouraged by the darkness that looms large in your view.

You aren’t alone. If we sat down today in my kitchen and shared our stories, I bet we would see similarities.

Together, we would ask God to move two mountains.

With worshipful hearts, let’s keep crying out to the Lord for those mountains to crumble.

Let’s pray big!

To help you get started, I’m sharing a copy of My Pray Big Prayer Calendar with you. Join the Wildfire Faith Community and  grab a copy in our Faith Fuel Library. Print out your copy and start each morning inviting God to strengthen your step and breathe fresh wind into your weary spirit.  

 If you are visiting from Lisa’s today,

welcome to my little space on the web!

Here you will find fuel for a wildfire faith to help you

• • LOVE DEEP: Fervently extend God’s kindness and grace to pesky people.
  • PRAY BIG: Go down fighting on your knees with fire in your bones.
  • HOPE FULL: Stay tethered to a confident anticipation that keeps your heart ablaze.
  • STAND STRONG: Rest courageously on God’s promises with red-hot resolve.

SIGN UP TO GET WEEKLY #FAITHFUEL IN YOUR INBOX.

YOU’LL RECEIVE “4 SUREFIRE WAYS TO IGNITE YOUR FAITH” AS MY GIFT TO YOU.

YOU’LL ALSO GET ACCESS TO THE PRACTICAL RESOURCES IN OUR PRIVATE FAITH FUEL LIBRARY.

Challenge: Each day this week, start your day by praying: “Lord, make us one.” 

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