Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Wes and I are enjoying retirement. We moved out of the Toronto area, and, though I miss good friends, I don’t miss the traffic and incessant roar of the city. I enjoy a quieter, slower pace now; trees fill my vista instead of high rises and aggressive vehicles. I hope I am still as enthused with my new surroundings in January. I am sorting through boxes to find our heavy coats.

This summer, we spent time visiting family and renewing old friendships. I heard many stories and noticed how people in different communities live their lives. It all reminded me of the kaleidoscope I received for Christmas when I was a child. It was a simple toy that provided hours of entertainment.

A kaleidoscope is a cylinder with mirrors inside and a rotating canister at the end which contains small bits of colored plastic, glass, and beads. There is a small viewing hole at one end and a material at the other which allows light to enter. I was fascinated with how the slightest turn of the canister produced radically different patterns and colorful designs.

Our lives are like a kaleidoscope. We are given many of the bits and pieces in our “canisters” at birth. Then we add pieces and other people add pieces. Some pieces are beautiful and some are not. The interesting part comes as we turn our canister by making decisions.

The greatest turn comes when we decide to allow God to make His own design. Then we turn the canister every day as we make heart choices. Do we forgive or remain bitter? Do we live our lives for our own selfish purposes or do we seek and find God’s purpose? The patterns will be drastically different!

As the Christmas season comes around again (and I’m not sure how it came so fast), I celebrate the fact that our lives are not limited to sealed canisters with broken pieces sporadically designing our present and our future. We celebrate Christmas because Christ, our artistic and imaginative Creator, actually came to earth to rescue us from the darkness of sin (those things that hurt us and others) and invite us into His glorious Kingdom of Light. He will transform our scattered and broken pieces into a beautiful mosaic by His love.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).

He did not come to collect all the righteous; He came to call sinners, people like you and me.

© Sue Carlisle 2013. Sue Carlisle is a member of the Ponca tribe and spent much of her youth on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Her passion is to encourage people to look at creation and see our awesome Creator.