Tag Archive for: problems

Tiny Obstructions

On Saturday morning, Monic was sat in the car, ready to go.
Time was pressing to get to Groningen, a 2½ hour drive.
Despite several attempts the electronic automated garage doors, would not close.
Somehow – they’d jammed open.
Frustrated, I pressed the electronic remote several times. Nothing.
I moved bicycles and stuff from around the garage door. Nothing.
I removed the plug and reset the system. Nothing.
I tried that three times. Nothing.
I tried physical force. Silly. Nothing.
I called on Monic. She gave me some similar tips. Nothing.
I called the church Facilities Manager. He gave now familiar advice. Nothing.
Finally, he said, are the internal Infra-red readers clean. I cleaned them. Nothing.
The issue was escalating.
We needed to be in Groningen, but we were now late.
“Should I call and cancel?” – I thought.
Overhearing our frustrations, our neighbour Peter Van de Kamp, came to the rescue.
Immediately, he found the problem.
“It’s the branches, those little twigs” he said.
Those tiny twigs were obstructing the external infra-red readers.
I never knew they were even there!
Thank you, Peter (again)! 😊
Regularly he comes to our rescue!
It was a simple solution if you know how.
We made it to Groningen albeit, 10 minutes late.
Very few big problems, start as big problems.
In fact, most problems start small, tiny even.
Tiny, seemingly insignificant things, can create big problems.
Oftentimes, others can come to your rescue…
What tiny insignificant things might be causing problems in your life?

The Master Puzzler

“I’ve seen a lot of posts lately about the church, why people stay, why they shouldn’t stay, church doctrine vs. church policy, the list goes on & on.
I heard a powerful analogy at church today that I want to share here for myself to look back on, and also for those who may need to hear it.

The Analogy…

The analogy, or parable if you will, was to think of the gospel, the church, God’s plan or even just LIFE, like a puzzle. When you start a puzzle, you start with what you know. You work on the outside pieces, pieces with clear edges, pieces you are confident belong.
As the puzzle continues, you may run into various pieces that don’t seem to belong, that fit weird, or don’t make sense. But you don’t throw out the entire puzzle just because you can’t figure out where that piece goes. You know there’s a bigger picture coming into place. You set aside that puzzle piece and keep working at the rest of the puzzle. Eventually, the picture will become more and more clear and it will be obvious where that seemingly unimportant, or incorrect piece goes. You’ll be glad you didn’t give up or throw that piece out because you’ll see the bigger picture.
There are many things I don’t have the answers to, but I know that God is the master puzzler, if you will, and every piece of this life; the gospel; and his plan is there for a reason. (1 Nephi 11:17❤️) Even if we can’t see where it fits now, don’t let what you don’t know or understand stop you from what you do. Keep doing the puzzle. Keep all the pieces in sight until you know where they go. I have a feeling it’s going to be worth it. 🤍 ”    – From a social media post by Emma Hixson