Life Is Like a Kaleidoscope

Recently while I was praying for those who are far from God, and whose lives seem to be hopeless messes, I had a vision of a kaleidoscope where many different pieces make up a mosaic of a beautiful image. If you turn the mechanism the picture changes into another picture different from the first but still beautiful. When a kaleidoscope breaks, all the pieces fall in a pile and seem to be a hopeless mess.

Webster defines a kaleidoscope as:
· A tubular optical instrument in which loose bits of colored glass at the end of the tube are reflected in mirrors so as to display ever-changing symmetrical patterns as the tube is rotated.
· A continually shifting pattern, scene or the like,
· beautiful shape.

God started showing me that our lives are like a kaleidoscope. All of our experiences make up the 'loose bits of colored glass'. When we give our lives to Him, He takes all those experiences (the good and the difficult) and creates a beautiful picture.

If we turn from Him and break our relationship, or feel as if we have messed up really badly and missed His 'perfect will', we tend to look at our lives as being filled with many broken pieces, fallen in a jumble all around us. But when we turn back to Him, He takes all those broken pieces of our lives and turns them into a new beautiful picture.

The message I got from this, is that there are no hopeless messes in God's eyes. He can, and does, and will, take all the broken pieces of our lives and turn them into a beautiful mosaic when we give them to Him. It doesn't matter how far off track we (or our loved ones) have gotten. We don't have to go through life thinking we missed God's 'perfect will' for our lives (the hidden message here being we will never receive His full approval). Yes,...He does have a beautiful plan for each of our lives, but when we mess up He doesn't look at it as a hopeless cause and say 'too bad you missed it'. When we are willing to turn back to Him and surrender all the broken pieces, He will smooth out the sharp edges as He works in our lives and then expertly place them into a new and beautiful picture.

The final image may not be the same as the first one He gave us, but it is new and beautiful to Him. The ever changing picture of our lives is not like a mosaic, which is a rigid picture made up with many pieces of colored glass and set in stone, but like the kaleidoscope that ever changes, as He changes us from glory to glory.

Let the Love of God Shine Through Your Life

I was at a friend's house recently and she had a vase of stunning bright blue daisies on her table. As beautiful as the flowers were, the water visible in the clear glass vase was just as beautiful because it was the same vibrant blue color. Together they made a beautiful picture. My friend told me the flowers were originally white daisies which were soaked in blue dye. As the dye was absorbed up through the stem it reached the flower and changed its appearance. When the flower was placed in the vase of clear water, the dye began to seep back down through the stem and changed the color of the water. An interesting thing here is that the flower did not lose it's vibrant color but rather shared the color with the water.


This image came back to me several times in the ensuing days and I began to realize there is a spiritual lesson here. In Matthew 5: 14-16 Jesus says, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven".

As I began to meditate on this scripture and others, I could see the connection to the vase of blue flowers. 2 Corinthians 3:18 in the Message says in part: …"And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him." In the New Century Version 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 says in part, "But when a person changes and follows the Lord,….We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like Him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

When we accept Jesus as our Savior we are like the daisies. When our sins are washed away we start our spiritual life as white as the daisies were. As we spend time in the presence of God, absorbing His character and goodness through prayer and studying His Word, we begin to change to be like Him. We begin to absorb the 'color' of His character. The people around us can see this on a surface level as illustrated by the color of the flower. As we continue in the life changing experience of walking with God, His character will begin to seep deep into our souls and spirits and will be reflected through our words, deeds, attitudes, values, and character. This is illustrated by the water changing color to match the color of the flower. And the type of vase is important in this illustration. A vase that is not transparent will still have the same beautiful color of water but it will not be readily seen or recognized by others. A clear vase will reflect the full color in all its vibrancy. So we should aspire to be transparent, clear vessels reflecting the character of God for all to see so they may give praise to our heavenly Father.

Shalom, Judy

Do You Ever Wonder Why You Are Here?

Do you ever wonder why you are here? What is your purpose on this earth? What is the meaning of life? Some people never think about things like this, preferring to live for the day, or for the weekend when they can party. Endlessly searching for the one thing that will bring them happiness, and peace to the restless yearnings within.

What about you? What drives you? Is it a search for that one true love? For acceptance? For fame and fortune? Or simply for recognition that you are a person with dreams and hopes that are, as yet, unfulfilled? What drives your engine? What deep longings do you try to quench with ceaseless activities, with the quest for the next party, the next great adventure, the next relationship?

In the quiet moments of our lives we face the stark reality that no one really knows us deep inside, in the core of our being, what we really think or feel about everything. Oh some may know bits and pieces, some more than others. But no one knows the whole story of who you are, every experience of your life, your thoughts and feelings about those experiences and how all these worked together to shape you into the person you are today...you. You may be afraid to let anyone truly know you at the core because you fear they would not like you if they knew the 'real' you.

Would it surprise you to learn there is someone who knows everything about you? Every detail of what you think, what you feel, the sad things, the bad things, the happy things, the good things. The choices you have had and the paths you have chosen. The circumstances that surrounded you that you feel you had no control over. Everything.

Would it surprise you to learn that in spite of knowing all this about you this person loves you with an everlasting love. He longs to have a personal relationship with you. For you to know Him as well as He knows you. Ok, by now you have guessed I'm talking about God. No...He is not some impersonal being 'out there' somewhere who is not interested in your life.

Stay with me for a moment.

Listen to your heart's cry within.

You know you long for this kind of relationship.
He is very much interested in you. After all, He created you in His own image. He put a yearning inside you to know Him. But He does not force this relationship. You can try to fill this yearning in any way you choose. But sooner or later you will come to the realization that all your efforts are in vain because you still feel like something is missing in your life. Does that ring a bell yet?

Does that sound fair? That He would give you this longing and not give you a way to fulfill it? There is a way. When you come to know Him you will discover what it means to experience true joy …not fleeting happiness. You will discover true peace…not temporary security... in your job, ...in your finances, ...in your relationships with other people.

I'm talking about a peace that passes all understanding, in the midst of the happiest times of your life and also the saddest or most distressing times of your life.

Think I'm kidding? Crazy? Fanatic about religion? No. I'm not talking about empty religion or a commitment to a church. I'm talking about a vibrant, real relationship with your Creator, the One who knows you best, and loves you most. So much so that He sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for your sins. So you can enter into everlasting life with Him. Not just in heaven someday, but beginning here on earth.

If you sense a longing to know more or if you are a skeptic at heart and want to prove me wrong…I encourage you/challenge you to find out more by reading God's 'instruction manual for life'…the Bible. I suggest you start with one of the gospel stories. He did not inspire the writers to tell His story to condemn us or to hem us in with rules. The Bible stories are meant to show us how much we really do need to connect with our Creator to find complete fulfillment in our lives. That is freedom. And we are free to choose to accept or reject the challenge.

What will you choose? What have you got to lose by accepting the challenge? If you want to know more, feel free to contact me. I am not interested in debates but I will be willing to communicate with anyone who is truly seeking to understand who this Jesus is and how He can connect you to your heavenly Father.