Life is a lot like trying to solve multiple puzzles at once. You’ve got your ‘family’ puzzle, where you sort out your relationships with parents and siblings. You’ve got your ‘school’ puzzle where you learn how to be responsible. And you’ve got a puzzle of your ‘dreams’ you’re trying to put together. Then as life goes on, your ‘school’ puzzle turns into ‘work/career’. Your ‘family’ puzzle gets a little bit bigger when you get married.

Now we all like to think that we can keep these puzzles together, in their respective boxes. But we’re kidding ourselves if we truly expect that to happen, because life happens. We move to college and it messes up our ‘school’ and ‘family’ boxes. We get fired from a job and it ruins our ‘job/career’ and ‘family’ puzzles. Eventually, we wind up with all of our puzzles just in one box; just a giant pile of pieces to a bunch of different puzzles. It’s super complicated and super messy.

And that’s not counting anyone else’s puzzles. Where is your spouse supposed to put their puzzles? You’ve already made a mess with yours?

We can often times feel overwhelmed by life, trying to figure out all of the pieces. We can often times overwhelm our spouses and significant others by dumping the pieces on their lap.

There is one truth that we all need to relearn from time to time:

Life is a team sport

We are meant to have other people in our life to help us put the pieces together. Not just one or two, but a whole team of people who help love and support us. There are three kinds of relationships the Bible shows us we need to have outside of our family (Note: I’m sure there are more than these three, I’m just highlighting these particular three).

Friends:
David and Jonathon were so close that they were described as ‘knit to each other’ and ‘bound to each others life’. They knew each other better than anyone else. And that kind of friendship allowed them to drop their guards, and be themselves.

I have a core group of friends that know me better than I’d like. They know my gross habits, my cracks, and my imperfections. They know who I am when I’m not “Pastor Brady”. But I also know I don’t have to have all of my puzzles put together around them.

Mentors:
When Samuel pledged his service to God, he needed someone to show him what exactly that meant. So Samuel went to study under Eli, an older prophet who had lived in service to God. And because of Eli, Samuel was able to hear and answer the call of God.

I have a professional mentor, as well as a couple to mentor my fiancee and I as we prepare to get married. And I have these mentors because “I don’t know what I don’t know”. These are guides who help me know what to expect, and help me prepare for what comes next.

Counselors:
There’s a powerful story where Nathan, a close advisor and counselor to King David, confronts David about his affair with rape of Bathsheba. Fun fact: David could easily kill Nathan if he wants too. But Nathan confronts David with his wounds in a way that David “hears”, and so begins David’s healing and repentance.

I have a clinical therapist I meet with. I meet with him because I know that even though life seems to be going well right now, something will happen. An old (or new) wound from family, marriage, or my career will crop up, and I will need some help recovering from it.

No one is meant to handle life by themselves. And too often, we put too much of the burden on too few people. We all need some help in life, and that’s okay.

Because life is a team sport.

I love y’all, and there’s nothing you can do about it.