Video Transcript: Application of the Puzzle Piece Perspective

So while puzzle pieces are a picture, I wanted to paint another picture, and I wanted to back that up with a little bit of Scripture. So I hope you just take delight in this time. Sit back and think along with me, because this is something that came to my mind as I was traveling and thinking about puzzle pieces, and those words of God that surround our life. So, may this be an encouragement to you but also another picture to think about. 

One of the things that I will marvel at my age, is how small the print has gotten on the back of like my credit cards and debit cards, you know, call whatever number, and there is no way I can see them; like, no way. And it sort of came to light, not too long ago, when I came back, and I always had this Bible in my purse, and I said to my husband, I don't know, my Bible got damaged. It got wet or something, but all the words in that Bible have gotten smaller. And he said to me, honey, I don't think you need to do Bible. You need to get your eyes checked. And so I resonated with that. 

And I think eye exams can be interesting. If I remember correctly, they can tell you if you're near sighted, which means you can see the things that are near. They can tell you if you're farsighted, which means you can see the things that are far. So it's about vision. But also there are some unique tests of vision perception, right? 

So I don't know if you've ever seen these. My parents had one of these hanging up on their porch. And if you stared at it long enough, you were supposed to see like dolphins or zebras or something jumping around in the picture. And so you know, it was this interesting visual challenge that like, do I see anything in there or not? I never could. I was always frustrated when people would look at it, and say, there it is, there it is. And I'm like, Nah, got nothing. 

The other thing, and they're just perception. So I'm not sure what you saw when this picture came up. Some people will either see a beautiful woman with a feather in her hair and a very petite nose. Another might see a much older woman with a shawl and quite a large nose and chin. And sometimes people can go back and forth between the two. But often when I ask people, what did you see first, it's a 50/50 split. So images are sent to our brain and our brain interprets those one way or another. It's always trying to make meaning. Well, this struck me because I thought, okay, if we can take tests that tell us if we are able to see near or are able to see far, if there are tests of perception, wouldn’t it be cool if we could figure out how to be God-sighted, like that we could put something on and we could actually see things the way that God sees them. That we would have a glimpse of like God glasses or something like that. What would it mean to be God's-sighted? 

And so it occurred to me that sort of like puzzle piece lenses, what does that what does that look like? One of the interesting things, I think, is to look at scripture, is that an actual thing? So this verse from Colossians. “Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Focus your focus your mind in a different place. “For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” So our vision, what we look at what we study what we think about that can be that can be different than what others may see or think. 

Certainly, there are great passages in the Bible. I loved this one with Elisha and a servant. Do you remember this story from Second Kings where the servant… well, Elisha had been tipping off the king of Israel when other people were attacking because God would tell him and, of course, that made all of these other countries pretty upset with Elisha, and so they decided to come and surround the town and get him. They figured out where he was staying. So Elisha’s servant gets up in the morning, goes outside, and he sees that they are surrounded. They have this vast army. There is no getting out of this, right? So it goes back inside. I don't know what he said to Elijah. We're in big trouble wake up, whatever. But Elisha prays that God would open in his eyes, so that he could see that those that are with them are far greater than those that are with the other people, right? And so Elisha prays and the servant goes out, and he sees that they are completely protected by these horses and chariots of fire. Wow. So again, he was able to see things differently after God opened his eyes. 

I think of another verse, too; this one with Samuel, where he was sent to crown the next king over Israel. He went to Jesse and paraded these peoples as the sons in front of Samuel, and one of them must have looked especially royal, especially tall, handsome, whatever, and he was pretty sure it was going to be that one. And God said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected Him.” 

The Lord does not look at the things man looks at man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. So again, we've got this unique picture of our vision with the things of God are sometimes very different. Whether that's a life to service, whether that's where we focus our mind or our heart, whether that's thinking about, okay, God's not looking at that piece, God's looking at something else. How can we take that idea and think differently about focusing our eyes. 

So, again, I think one of the things that even if we took all of the students from this course, and we all stood together for a group picture, one thing that people would notice is that we got a lot of diversity, right? We might have different colors of skin, we might have different hair color, eye color, whatever that would be. But we have a lot of difference. So, I go back to that idea of God knitting us together with puzzle pieces. What we know about God's creation is that God created us to be diverse, to have different areas of green, different areas of pink, to have strengths and challenges in diverse areas. But there's something that's completely consistent, that goes around those of us who are in Christ, and then is the frame of words that surround our lives. I like to think about that. 

In fact, I like to think that no matter what puzzle piece is in the middle, whatever name, whatever person, whatever one of us is in there, whatever person with whatever area of disability or ability is part of that, the frame of words that surround that person are the same. That frame of words was not something we earned, is that something that was part of our abilities. And so to be called, the salt light of the world is a gift that God gives to us as we are His children. 

Look at this. We're image bearers; we’re important. Were indispensable, we're secure. No one can knock us out of God's hand. We're dearly loved children of God. We’re heaven bound travelers, we’re honored members of the Body of Christ, and you could probably come up with a lot more words.  We’re forgiven. Scripture is filled with those things that describe who we are, when we are in Christ. What a beautiful gift that frame of words is. And yet, how many people fail to see that frame of words around certain individuals. 

I am shocked at times that so often we can look at an individual and really dismiss them quite quickly.  It reminds me of bargain days. Bargain days at the store down the road where they have a discount table, right? And there's some clerk that's going through all of the clothing and so while this one's flawed, this one should be full price, but this one's marked down because there's something wrong with it. And so easily, almost effortlessly, we can take a look at something and sorted out - worthwhile, not as worthwhile, you know, worth full price. That's definitely a marked down. But we do that, almost with people, automatically. 

You can pass people on the road, you can pass people in a store and our mind separates people based on physical qualities all the time. It's like, okay, that is not being Gods-sighted. Because the truth is the words that surround my friend who happens to have zero words to speak, who says yes or no with her eyes by looking up or down, that participates in the Lord's Supper by getting that super soggy a piece of bread in the back of her, we share that same frame of words. Maria, you are salt and light of the world. Marie, your important.  Marie, you’re a heaven bound traveler; your dearly loved child of God, you're secure. No one can knock you out of God's hand. But I can stand in the middle of that frame to those same things are true about me. 

We know that even within the church for persons with disabilities, there has been way too much sorting. Oh, yeah, you can come - you're worth full price. You're full price of our youth group. Oh, sorry, try the church down the road. Cast off material, right?  We've made those decisions even within our church programs about who can stay and who goes, and I think completely ignoring that frame of words that surrounds each other's life. 

I think that happened with my father and others with dementia. It's almost as though when dad lost his ability to read - yes, he could read seven different languages and speak five of them. My dad. Right? Couldn't do that anymore. When he was 92, he couldn't even say my name anymore. There are so many things that happened. But guess what, while dad's puzzle piece was changing through this thing called Dementia, not one of these words that surrounded my dad's life changed at all. Isn’t that an amazing picture. 

So I would really encourage you to be aware of that; how easy it is for us to sort people by value. And when you have that happen around you, but have that happened when there are some like marked-down people like they're on a bargain table? May I suggest that that's the time when we have to say, Lord, make us God's-sighted. I know that Elisha’s servant's eyes needed to be open. Mine might need to be open now, too.  Our congregation’s eyes might need to be open. I know that when Samuel was anointing the king over Israel, he said, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at something different. Show me that different. Equip us with your eyeglasses in order to see that. Beware, within the world of persons with disabilities, have this almost automatic sorting that goes on with people and expected worth and value of individuals based on that sorting. 

I think sometimes, and I've actually done this, I took my own words, and I made myself, in my bathroom mirror, this sort of frame of words, to remind me who I am because, let's face it, I don't know about you, folks, but sometimes I hopped on that bargain table all by myself. I didn't feel as worthwhile on that day. I was feeling like a marked down individual, somebody who should be on sale for being flawed, or whatever that might be. Sometimes, we need to remember that this frame of words is for our life, too, because God mobilizes and uses us when we are in that place of being able to be considered for who we are. And so sometimes I think we need to be God-sighted for even our own lives, to avoid that bargain table thing that tends to go on. 

So I just wanted to remind us of this frame of words; I wanted to remind us of a different application of puzzle piece lenses, and I wanted to give us an opportunity to just sort of soak in those words that surround our lives. And, to be on guard, that there are sometimes persons with disabilities that are viewed as those all pink people or those people that are bargain table people. And that is not where any of us belongs. How can you possibly take a person who is dearly loved by God, a person who is indispensable, a person who is an honored member of the Body of Christ, and think that they are somehow a bargain kind of person. 

So as you imagine that, I would suggest that you take some time to think through the perspective pieces that we've discussed now within this section of our time. Clearly, puzzle piece thinking has lots of implications, has lots of ramifications for when you find out about a difference. We talked about that through that spiritual journey. We talked about some of those cultural pieces that can happen. Some of those differences that are just part of that whole understand, renewed understanding of what that means. But also this picture of who we are in Christ and to maybe use that to combat some of those other issues that might have been experienced, culturally or in sort of damage control that's done as people are received into congregational community. How can we keep everybody off that bargain table? How can we ask God for his vision as we look at individuals in our lives?

So, enjoy the work that's part of this course. And I am just excited to hear back from each of you about how that word disability or some of those differences are perceived within your community, and the idea of how that fits with something like this frame of words that surrounds and is tattooed around our lives. 

I'll close this with just a story from my father, and a reminder in a strong way to me. My father was diagnosed with dementia and as I said he was a learner of languages; he was a lover have words. That was one of his very favorite things was to communicate to people with words. He taught in at a seminary and he was a brilliant man. He was also just a great dad. And so I was able to watch as dad was diagnosed with dementia, with how this picture of who dad was became very different. And I kept going to dad and finding ways to connect with him and be part of that life together. And I kept telling myself, Barb, you need different tools, you need to come up with different tools, because to have that connection couldn't rely on words, it had to rely on other experiences. And yet how important it was to me that I remembered that those words were still around my father. 

He would make some remarks that my dad never would have made, he did some things that dad never would have done. And yet, no matter what happens on that inner part, right, of how we can change over time, those words were clearly around my father. And not only that, I discovered that the things that we did in church, the things of worship, were at the core and at the heart of who my dad was until the day that he went away from here to be part of that heavenly place where I am just thrilled that and celebrating that he can be at that place where he doesn't struggle to use words to praise God, but that's part of his life now in a more full way. 

But one of the things I discovered is that some of the limitation was on me. I was too word focused. I was the one that was thinking about, you know, can you say my name? What a bad question to ask somebody with dementia. Do you know my name? Really? Wear a nametag. Just let it say Barb, and I should have said Barb, your daughter, right, so that we don't have to do that. And also an awareness that, to me, saying my name meant he knew me. And yet knowing somebody is far beyond being able to say their name. Knowing somebody might be knowing the way that they smell, or recognizing their voice or their smile, or the way they touch your hand or your face. Knowing somebody is way more than knowing somebody's name. It’s also a multi-sensory opportunity. 

So as I was becoming more in tune with how I could visit with my dad using pictures and using the language of worship that we both still love so very much, it then it became clear to me that somehow, the vision of the frame of words around dad was my vision problem. And that was the person who had it. And I think many times congregations fall into that trap as well.  Well, that person has dementia; they're not the same person. Well, they've changed but guess what? To God, they're that person who's still in that frame. 

So just one dad story because it's so beautiful. And again, something we'll point out as we get to Scripture, but dad was a lifelong lover of the Word of God. And one of the times that I visited I, I would sit right across from him because field of division with a person with dementia can change over time. And I remember sitting there and offering my two hands as a choice because he could look meaningfully at one hand or another, and that's the one that he would choose. So I said, Dad, do you want me to say a scripture, or do you want me to sing a song? And dad picked scripture. Now this was after I used up like five minutes blathering on at him and I was all done with my words. But he had very few words to say back to me at that point, at least I thought he did. 

I thought that our connection was… I didn't know what … but I knew we could always do scripture, song, prayer together. In fact, it had only been a few days before that that I like said, Hey, Dad, I have to leave. Would you like to close in prayer? Like that's really gonna work.  You know, he prayed this beautiful prayer that had great meaning. Five complex sentences fell out of his mouth as he prayed this prayer and I'm like, Ah, the spirit has joined us in this place and allowed dad to, to speak these things. 

Anyway, it was beautiful. So I said to dad, which one, and he picks scripture. So I said, Okay, I'm going to  say Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.” And I was done and then dad grabbed my hand and I said, You want me to say it again? So I did. May the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope.

Stop! Interrupted. Right at that word. I'm like, Oh, my goodness. First of all, this was a very meaningful interaction. This was a this was a connection we were having. So I listened. And he said, hope for me. And I'll tell you what.  My dad, who was a master at conversation, chose a language that we shared called scripture to steer the conversation into what he wanted to talk about, which was the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. 

Oh my goodness, I was reminded again, at the beauty that was in my father, the beauty of a life that was lived rooted in God, the beauty of the language we could share, even just weeks before his death, and what a gift that was to be able to talk with my father about that hope. 

So again, lots of life circumstances, sometimes they're very personal. Sometimes they involve groups of people. Sometimes it's a congregation that needs some reminder. But it is my hope that we can all be God-sighted as we look at individuals and we see them within that frame of words. And we see the individuality, we see the greens and the pinks and all the strengths and challenges. 

And sometimes those change over time, like with my dad, sometimes they change quickly over time. But that we can always view that person for who they are in Christ, and that we can deliver the kind of respect and honor that each one deserves and that place of belonging within our congregations. 

So I hope these pieces have encouraged you as you think about perspective, as you continue to think about that with the homework of this week. And may God truly make you God-sighted for the people that are part of your life in your congregation and beyond.