You Are a Divine Masterpiece

By Marion Pyle –

A few years ago, I was living in Melbourne, Australia and went to see the Netherlands Ballet. It had been a hectic few weeks and I was wrestling with the decision as to whether, after eight years of living Down Under, I should continue living there and put down roots, or move back to the U.S. I always found the ballet inspiring and wondered if the evening might unfold some clue for me.

When the lights dimmed and the dancers entered, each carried a small carpet rolled under his or her arm. Some unrolled theirs and languidly laid them down. Others wrapped themselves up as with a cloak, or clutched theirs desperately, while still others stood on them, frozen in place. 

Suddenly, giant rugs with abstract designs were lowered from the rafters and hung like enormous paintings slicing the air. The music began.

Personal Carpets

The dancers started weaving gracefully among the hanging carpets. Some embraced their smaller ones like a lover. Others rolled inside theirs frantically, or buried their faces in anguish. A few lay motionless as if in a sacred sleep or meditation. The remaining troupe whirled intensely among the suspended forest as if trying to find their way.

The Dance of Life

This dance seemed to me just like life. We move in and out of seasons, sometimes passionately engaged, other times lost or frantic, at intervals racked with pain, or simply frozen with uncertainty. Thankfully, every now and then, we can take a pause and rest while life around us thunders on.

That evening, the ballet did “unfold” some insight for me. I recognized the movement of the seasons in my own life…and the unmistakable call to come home.

Discovering The Design

A short time later, I did move back to California. “Coincidentally” the carpet theme was to surface again soon. At a women’s retreat, the speaker compared life to a carpet! She said that while the underside of a rug was an ugly and chaotic maze of threads and knots pulling in different directions without apparent rhyme or reason, the front part displayed God’s beautiful design for our lives, full of color and purpose. If one focused only on the back, the image was anarchic, but in the front, this seemingly random maze of threads wasn’t haphazard at all, but worked together to shape the beauty and harmony of a unique design.

Goodbye to 2015

This year, the back of my life’s carpet reveals a hectic maze! The presence of several jagged and truncated threads highlight my failed attempts at certain achievements I’d strived for, and God denied. Other more familiar strands remain vibrantly present offering the glimpse of stability and continuity. And then there are those mysterious new threads with fresh colors, twists and turns. These pluck on the strings of my soul like those of a musical instrument, and resonate with the promise of fulfillment in 2016…and perhaps beyond?

A Time for Reflection

The end of the year is a fitting time to pause and reflect on what God has done in our lives. I am so profoundly thankful for His faithfulness, kindness and blessing throughout 2015. My husband, a cancer survivor, remains healthy and healed, against all odds (you can read our inspirational story at www.healedhealthyandwhole.com). Everything else seems to pale in comparison, though like anyone, we still have our trials and remain patient in longsuffering until these are resolved. And I persevere in hope and expectation that God will weave a beautiful design with our dreams–that include His best for our country—in 2016.

Your Carpet Masterpiece

This end of the year, I pray that each of you can roll out a ‘carpet’ of your own and have a moment of true reflection and rest. Even when you can’t see it, trust that God is behind the scenes, ‘weaving’ all things out for your good. And be assured that He will never change or cease to love and care for you throughout the new year and forever. Perhaps when you look back at the end of 2016, you will see the divine design behind many of His present purposes in your life. Then, one day, when your dance is finally done, you will stand before Him radiant and complete, a true masterpiece!

Marion M. Pyle is an author, speaker and seminar leader. She is also an award-winning writer, producer and television host with acting experience in film, television and theater in the U.S. and Australia. For speaking engagements or to host a Healed, Healthy and Whole seminar in your area, please contact Marion at HealedHealthyandWhole.come.