The Big Picture

My mother remarried when I was 14, and we moved to live near where my stepfather worked. It was only 50 miles away, but it felt like hundreds of miles because I was leaving friends I had known all my life. Then about a year and a half later, my stepfather was transferred to a town 200 miles away. I was angry that I had to leave my friends again.

As a teenager, I couldn’t see anything good about these moves. But God works in mysterious ways. The moves forced me to be less introverted, and I became more comfortable meeting new people. I learned how to adapt to new environments and cope with changing circumstances.

Now I can see that possessing those skills has been a great benefit to me throughout my life. God has the full picture of our lives even if we may not understand in the moment. Joseph’s story from Genesis is a wonderful example of this. Even though his brothers meant to punish and harm Joseph, his experience in Egypt became a great blessing to many, including his own family. God sees the big picture; our role is to trust God.