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Have you ever met anyone who truly “had it all”? I doubt it; in fact, I’m quite certain that no one has everything they want. I want to talk about the missing pieces of our lives. I have some in my life, and I’m certain you do, too. What are those missing pieces, those things you really want but you don’t have?
You know, I’ve been noticing lately that a lot of people are truly handicapped over the missing pieces in their lives. Whatever it is that is not there in their life’s puzzle, they have become obsessed with it, it controls their thought life, and it keeps them from enjoying or appreciating the good things they do have.
I was talking with a friend who has been married quite a few years, and has always wanted children, but she has not been able to have her own. That’s a painful missing piece, and she was sharing the pain with me. But even though she recognizes that an important piece is missing, she hastened to add: “But, Mary, I have so much to be thankful for. My life is still full and meaningful,” and she began to recite the good things—the pieces that are not missing from her life.
I said to her, “Do you realize how unusual you are? While you acknowledge that a key piece is missing from your life, and is likely to always be missing, you are focused on what is not missing.” In fact, in all the years I’ve known her, she has never allowed that missing piece to rob her of joy or to keep her from being involved in helping and doing for others. And she’s even able to rejoice with her friends who do have their own children, without jealousy or envy.
How about you today? Have the missing pieces of your life become so overwhelming that you cannot see or appreciate what you do have? For ten years I allowed what I thought was a major missing piece in my life to control me. I felt that I had to be married for life to be complete, so I was consumed with finding the right person to marry. My obsession with this missing piece led me away from the Lord, away from biblical principles, into a life that was self-focused and sinful.
Quite frankly, when we are obsessed with what’s missing, instead of being thankful for what we have, we usually do become self-focused and our fellowship with God is damaged.
I can tell you from experience that being obsessed with what’s missing in your life is a miserable way to live. I want to encourage you to see those missing pieces from an entirely different perspective. To even be able to thank God for the missing pieces.