April 2026 - Rita Klundt

If my life were a puzzle that came in a box,

with the pieces all scrambled and free.

Were the lid to be sealed and cellophaned,

would I like the picture of me?

Would my borders be laid down first of all,

never-minding what’s painted between?

The sheer joy and delight when two shapes connect.

Dare I hope for a beautiful scene?

Other stuff set aside. I’m committed.

Good puzzles take time and need space.

With the focus on me and my purpose,

I look forward to seeing the face.

Well, the hours and memories start growing.

I am building on sad yesterdays.

There’s a piece I wish had gone missing.

I’d replace it with flowered bouquets.

I question why some come together—

Why others whose color won’t fit.

I see my two viable options.

To keep working with patience or quit.

I imagine my life as that puzzle,

Not flat, laying helpless or still.

Not stealing my time or my table,

But needing God’s hand and His skill.

I can stubbornly force it together—

Be satisfied with crooked and bent.

I can choose to ignore the unfinished.

I can waste every effort I’ve spent.

But I gaze at the lid and the picture.

What I see is phenomenally sure.

It’s a picture of me with my Savior.

I am loved and each piece is secure.

1 Comment

I entered the 70^th decade of my life about six months ago, and it took about that long for the spiritual word of the week begin with the letter Z.

“Zeal.” I’m not feeling it. Zeal implies energy, even youth.

When I ponder on that word, however, I recognize my zeal for a good nap on Sunday afternoons. I am zealous for rest and peace and the simple kind of joy.

Lord, thank you for directing my zeal—age appropriately. I’d climb a mountain were the instructions clear and clearly from you. I’d drive across the country or fly to the ends of the earth should you require it, but you have required no such thing of me.

Isaiah was a gray-haired, old man, based on all the artwork, yet the Lord used him to pen these words: “… but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31, CSB).

I am zealous for the brand of zeal Isaiah had. Just like Isaiah, there is no mission, task or good deed before me that the Lord himself did not provide.

My job for today is clear, and there’ll be no rest or peace until it’s done. If I’m to feel the zeal, it will come after obedience. And that means I will visit my neighbor to deliver an invitation to celebrate the resurrection with me on Sunday. She mentioned how she used to go to church and “loved it.” But then didn’t respond to my first invitation. That’s a zeal buster … because I let it be.

If I had to choose between zeal and obedience, I think obedience should come first, but must I choose? Do I need zeal to obey, and doesn’t obedience to the Lord’s voice bring me zeal?

Why do I sit and contemplate “zeal,” when I can have it?

Friend, can we talk later? I’ve got to visit a neighbor. It’s urgent. Sunday is Resurrection day, and I’m not getting any younger.

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Month: April 2026

The Puzzle

Zeal