The Missing Puzzle Pieces
My life felt like a puzzle with “a missing piece.” I needed to find out what was missing. First, I thought that being married would bring me happiness – “the missing piece!” Soon I learned that marriage was not an easy road to happiness, even when there is love. Well then, I thought that motherhood would be “the missing piece.” I was looking forward to being a mother. I consider my children as gifts from heaven. But within me, I felt that still there was “something missing.” I even asked my coworkers, “Isn’t there something we need to do to be truly happy?” They all said, “Forget it, Norma. You’re doing fine. That’s all there is to life!” I resigned myself to an unfulfilled life. I appreciated that God had provided me with a good husband and two children.
Finding the First Missing Piece ~ Jesus Christ
Eventually, we needed to consider which school to place our son in for kindergarten. My husband decided that a Christian school would provide a superior education. That was a turning point for us. The Lord Jesus used our five-year old son to bring His Word to me. At that time we didn’t have a Bible in our home. My son would tug at me and say, “Mommy, listen to this! Genesis 1:1, ‘God created the heavens and the earth.’” And I listened. He would say, “Mommy, listen to this! John 3:16, ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him would NOT perish, but would have eternal life.’” Every week he would come home with a Bible verse and would say, “Mommy, listen to this.” As I listened, I began to believe! Throughout the day I would ask him to repeat his verse to me. God’s Word was awakening something in me.
Previously, though I hadn’t realized it, I was unable to concentrate on people’s conversations. Gradually, I became more focused. The Lord Jesus brought clarity, light, truth, and genuine love into my heart. I praised the Lord that He was delivering me out of myself into Himself. He brought Himself into me as “the missing piece!”
Finding the Second Missing Piece ~ the Church Nine years later, our family moved to Chicago. This was another turning point. We bought a home near the Irving Park area, then we searched for a church. I was taking my family from church to church, but none felt like home. Something was “missing” in those churches. I saw the Chicago Bibles and Books bookstore and I walked in to see if anyone could recommend a church nearby. A Christian sister working there said that believers met right next door and that I was welcome to come on the following Lord’s Day. I said, “But there is no steeple, no cross, no name!” She reassured me that it was a genuine church gathering, so I went and I received the greatest joy of my life! Everyone was calling, “Oh Lord Jesus!” Everyone was praising the Lord, not once or twice, but during the entire time. A Korean-speaking sister recognized that I was new and invited me to sit with her. Together we stood up in groups of 2s and 3s to declare stanzas from the hymns that everyone was singing. It was so enjoyable!
The Puzzle is Finished!
Now I was part of a new and wonderful experience. In the church I learned that within me I had a human spirit, where God lives since the day I had received Him. Proverbs 20:27 declares, “The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah…” I also learned that the genuine church life is just true believers living in their spirit. Living in the spirit, I discovered, is not about church attendance on Sundays. Living in the spirit is a life of cherishing and calling. I began to cherish the Word, the believers, and the ministry. And as I enjoyed calling, “Oh Lord Jesus, I love You!”, I became aware that I was ONE with the Lord! As 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is ONE spirit.”
I am no longer searching for the “missing piece.” By contacting my human spirit the puzzle is no longer a puzzle to me. I now know that we all are made to contain God and to enjoy Him together in our spirit. I am no longer wondering if I have the Holy Spirit or not. Second Corinthians 4:7 says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” Amen! If you’re wondering about your “missing puzzle pieces,” please contact us at www.thechurchinchicago.org. “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5) Isn’t it wonderful that even a child can bring us the Gospel?