Most of us would have played with a shape sorter at some point in our lives. As tiny tots we tried to push the different shapes into the holes. We gradually noticed that there was one shape for one hole. Trial and error helped us to figure that out.
As my 24th birthday approaches, I realise that I am still trying to fit a ‘square peg into a round hole’ many, many years after playing with the shape sorter. I desperately try and force different aspects of my life into particular molds and it just ain’t happening!
Like the points on the shape of the star I feel like there are many different opportunities pulling at me. I could take many different paths.
At times, I feel like the shape of the circle in the sense that I go round and round in circles with regards to different decisions. I call these decisions ‘The Whim of the Week’, as these decisions usually change within the space of a week. I have several ideas, but keep coming back to the same idea, and before I know it, I am back where I started. I am often left confused and dizzy too!
Some days I feel that I am trying to force myself into a hole that just doesn’t fit my shape. In a similar way, it is like me trying to squeeze into a size 12 pair of jeans – it’s just not going to fit me! So why try?
Why should I try to conform to the pattern of this world? Why should I try to squeeze into a mold or shape that was never made for me?
I often try and force myself to figure things out that I am meant to just leave with God and trust Him through. I so want to control certain aspects of my life such as the next steps I am meant to be taking, but it really is a case of surrendering it all fully to the Lord. This is such a tough lesson to learn. I am being refined and it is not easy by any means.
When we look at the cross of Christ we can have confidence that there is a perfect fit. God has given us Himself through the cross. The cross is the shape of mercy, forgiveness, love, life everlasting, hope and so much more. And we were ALL made to fit this shape. We can come to the cross and know that we are accepted because of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. We are redeemed and welcomed before our wonderful God.
We no longer have to try and ‘fit’ into all the other shapes that society offer us. Society may want us to ‘fit’ by conforming to ideas such as ‘success’, ‘security’, ‘fashion’, ‘beauty’, ‘fame’ amongst other things. However, we will end up being like the frustrated toddler who has not yet understood that the different shapes have different holes. We will be trying to force ourselves to fit in with society, but it will be like banging our head against a brick wall. We were never meant to conform to the expectations of a broken and fragile world. However, God made us in His image and we fit perfectly into His Kingdom when we come to the cross.
Romans 12:2: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
An Anchored Hope 
I feel like it’s people, not God, who make me want to fit into the wrong holes. (Either I want to be like them and I’m just not, or they expect things of me that aren’t me.) When I rest in God and spend time in prayer, I’m more comfortable with who I am.
That is so true – thank you for commenting 🙂 Resting in God & spending time in prayer is where we should be 🙂