Your loss and brokenness could turn into a doorway of discovering how much the sovereign God cares about you. That’s exactly what Mary experienced in grief when her youngest son died as a result of injuries from a car accident. The tragedy led her to review God’s actions in her life in prior experiences, which enabled her to trust in His demonstration of lovingkindness in the grief the family and community experienced.

God is the divine Puzzle Maker, putting the pieces of our lives in place, one by one. He is a sovereign God who has the power to plan our lives for His glorious purpose. As we look for evidences of His care and tenderness in very difficult experiences of life as well in the good times, we are drawn in a close love relationship to this awesome God. Grief and loss can be an opportunity to draw us nearer to God.

Glorious Puzzle is the account of Mary learning to trust and love God deeply through her experiences of infertility, miscarriage, adoption of a special needs child, career changes, the mental illness and incarceration of her oldest son and the death of her youngest son. Her account challenges us to open our eyes to see God’s hand at work in our hard times and then give Him the honor and praise. It is a story of putting Proverbs 3:5 & 6 into action in everyday life and in times of trial. As God is acknowledged, He frees us to experience joy, draw near to Him, and feel His awesome love for us, and we can respond in grateful service.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” (ESV)