Broken lego sets

We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  
Romans 5:3-5  

Churchers,

One of the greatest lessons I learned as a therapist is that anything can be therapeutic with the right intention and guidance.

I worked in nonprofit agencies for most of my counseling career, and although we were provided some therapy supplies, many were very old and some were broken. For example, when I worked with children, I had several incomplete Lego sets, but they were honestly one of the most effective therapeutic tools I had. Sure, a child LEGO develop cognitive skills and hand-eye coordination with any LEGO set; but a child would learn so much more with an incomplete set. When she got to a place in the building process where she realized she did not have all the pieces, she would learn frustration tolerance, perseverance, and problem-solving. These valuable skills could then be applied to other places in her life where she felt like something was missing or getting in the way of her achieving her goals. 

I like to think this is how God uses suffering to refine us. I don’t think God gives us incomplete LEGO sets; I think He gave the world very complete sets, and through our brokenness, we lost some pieces here and there, and we pass these broken sets on to the next generation. God could give us new sets or replace the missing pieces, but God figured out long before I did that broken LEGO sets are the best therapeutic tools. When we are faced with challenges and setbacks in our lives, God does not rush in and save us; rather God gives us the wisdom to persevere and make meaning from these hardships.

Next time you are frustrated and things do not seem to be going your way; next time you are sad and feel like there are pieces missing in your life; next time you experience a barrier that gets in the way of whatever it is you have planned; remember that God is right there with you, and God will help you find meaning amidst the brokenness.