For Such A Time as This – January 21, 2021 – Karen Haldeman

To the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,
 
Gratitude
I have been so thankful for our Advent devotional booklet.  I enjoyed and was inspired by each one!  Thank you to everyone who contributed!!!  Perhaps we can do this again.
 
It’s been almost 2 weeks since the last devotion of that series.  Many have asked if I would go back to the weekly devotion emails.  That is my intention.  Here is the first one for 2021!  In so doing, I renew the invitation for others to compose and send devotional thoughts to share.  I prefer original compositions.  I find them more interesting and much less complicated as far as copywrite permissions go.  Each devotion should include a scripture reference, a thoughts section, and a brief prayer.  The overall intent is to provide encouragement and blessing.  It is in writing, sharing and reading our collective thoughts that we grow in community and in faith.
 
Joys and Concerns
If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text, or email it to me.  If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with Pastor Bill that week by Thursday evening. 
 
Prayer Requests:

• Scot Blouch - As he continues to recover from a recent surgery.
• Marlin Houff - He has been at HMC since last Friday, following a fainting fall.Tests continue to determine the cause of the fainting.
• DeeAnn and Gerry Daniels - For health concerns.
  
• Alma Heisey on the death of her son-in-law, Tom Cole.
  

See this Saturday’s “Weekly Up” email for additional prayer concerns.
 
Thank You:
To all who call others to check in on them and to share our emails and devotions.
 
Today’s Devotion:
I am thankful to Karen Haldeman for sharing today’s devotion.
 
Shalom,
Dennis
 
Scripture – 2 Corinthians 5:15 (Common English Bible)
So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!  (2 Corinthians 5:17, Common English Bible)
 
Thoughts
 
I have never had much interest in putting together jigsaw puzzles.  They’ve always seemed to require more patience than I’m willing to give, with both the time and the table space they consume.
 
However, that was before the pandemic.
 
With more evenings at home and no outside gardening this winter, I have discovered that putting puzzles together is actually therapeutic for me.  So much about our world these days seems jumbled and scrambled and doesn’t make sense, like the puzzle pieces dumped from the box onto a table.  How will they ever get put together to make something recognizable?  And isn’t it too overwhelming for anyone to even begin to figure out?
 
But working on a jigsaw puzzle in my family room gives me a sense of possibility as I separate the pieces into various color groups, then line up the edge pieces, and begin on the easier sections of the design.  It taps into my need to be creative as I build a recognizable image or pattern from individual pieces.  And connecting the pieces together softens the now year-long grief of feeling disconnected from familiar routines and people.  When I search and search for a specific piece that remains elusive, only to return later and see it right in front of me, I find myself laughing at how stepping away for a while was more constructive than trying so hard.  And when it’s all together, there’s the satisfaction of having finally completed something.
 
Will I enjoy putting together jigsaw puzzles in years to come?  Who knows.  But for now, for this year, I am grateful to have discovered some hope, creativity, connection, and joy in this unexpected place.
 
Prayer
Thank you, God, for the joy and connection we can experience—even in the midst of chaotic times—through ordinary things like jigsaw puzzles.