Life Through the Lens: Shuffling tiles

This post was contributed by Kevin Schrapel, and is the author’s personal opinion.

Everything was normal.

For years the floor tiles had sat quietly and, so everyone supposed, comfortably next to each other – no complaining, no shuffling or wriggling.

Their reason for being was to be in this place, to be a part of a whole, a whole that provided an eye-pleasing, level, trip-free area of water-proof flooring.

It appeared that all tiles were in agreement.

Then came that morning.

With a twitch, the centre left-hand tile muttered, “I am over this!”

“I am the most stepped-on tile in this area.

“Being over here on the side, no-one admires me.

“Everyone just stands on me!”

Then it gave the tile on the left a shove and demanded, “Here, you get over here – we are changing places”.

The centre tile, checking that the glue of some 15 years was still intact, replied, “I have been here for 15 years.”

“This position is where I started, and this is where I am staying.

“I am not moving for anyone.

“Just get over it!”

So, which tile are you?

Come on, you can be honest; there are no mind-readers in the room.

If we are honest, we can very easily find ourselves being the centre left-hand tile: feeling stood on, underappreciated, and feeling like yelling at the world: “Enough is enough! I want a better spot! Someone had better move over!”

I know I felt like screaming it this morning – then I realised there was no one to listen anyway.

Then there are those days when we take on the nature of the centre tile.

We stick out our chins and declare – even if only in the mind – “I’m not changing for anyone – so there!”

It is incredibly easy to forget that there is a loving God who says, “You most likely don’t understand why you are where you are right now.”

“Regardless of how you feel, how you think others see you, how they try to use you, or how they make you feel worthless, to me you are a precious person, just so precious.”

Don’t forget, he also says, “the person you might want to push around, treat as worthless, is also precious to me”.

Check out the section about loving your neighbour (Matthew 22:37-40).

He tells us in his word, the Bible, “What marvellous love the Father has extended to us!

“Just look at it – we’re called children of God!

“That’s who we really are” (1 John 3:1).

God bless.

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