Quick, how many friends and associates can you count on your hands that tend to look at their life as a puzzle to be solved? Family members who see their daily existence as a Rubik's Cube, and as soon as all the colors of their life match up, everything will be just fine? Perhaps you are a person who sees your life as a mystery to be investigated at length, examined to death and and finally unraveled?

Those individuals that you identified above, are they the same individuals who view their life flowing from an all-loving Creator; from a God that abounds with an endless love for all the creatures of this Life?

We find ourselves in a constant tug-of-war between our ever-developing understanding of our God; a God that either places challenges and struggles in our way or a God that showers us with continual blessings and protection. And depending on the day or week we are having, we can find ourselves oscillating between the God who gives us a life as a problem to be solved or the God who gives us a life that is a gift to be opened.

Which is it? I'll leave that for you to personally decide, but I offer you this...

Imagine receiving a gift from a very dear friend, but choosing not to open it because:

you're afraid you'll be disappointed as it may not be the gift you were hoping for;
the wrapping on the package is so intriguing, you get distracted and never get to the actual gift;
you're so busy, there's no time to open the gift and fully appreciate it.

And all the while, it is the gift that you will need the most at this very moment or in the near future.

We often times treat our life the same way. Too afraid to face the events of the day so we shy away from daily living and relationships. Too caught up in the superficial aspect of our life, we never get to point where we try to understand the deeper meaning of our existence. And too caught up in our own self-induced dilemmas, we never take time to truly appreciate what is right in front of us. And the gift never gets opened... and is eventually discarded...

It has been said that "if all you have is a hammer, then you'll treat everything as if it were a nail." Likewise, my friend, if you see your life as a series of problems, you'll find yourself only searching for solutions.

No matter how confusing it may all get, choose to see your life as a series of gifts, just waiting to be opened, understood and appreciated... from a Creator who chooses only to send the very best.