We had harvested the wood from a “wood cutting event” on the Air Force base near us. The trees had already been felled and cut into sections. We had loaded these sections into our truck and trailer and hauled them home. Once home, my husband cut them into pieces. Since the logs were already cut into long sections, Ladd was left with a “leftover piece” on the last part of each log, leading to the variety of lengths.

Just in case you’re wondering what I did while he cut the wood, I split the pieces. I’d love to say I split those logs with an ax, but I’d be lying. I’m a wimp and used an electric log splitter. Split logs fit into the fireplace better and burn more easily, so each section must be split into smaller pieces. Once split, we begin stacking the wood.

At first, the differing lengths of wood really irritated me. It’s harder to stack when they vary so much. In addition, some of the pieces had knot holes that the splitter couldn’t separate. Only half of the log would split resulting in one end being fatter than the other. Some pieces had “handles” where a small branch stuck out of the main trunk. And the bark came off some pieces leaving a big mess. Throw in the long and short pieces and stacking became a giant game of Tetris, trying to fit them all together just so.

As I worked, the Lord showed me something beautiful.

I have always struggled with fitting in. I never felt smart enough, pretty enough, cool enough. I didn’t have the speaking ability of so and so, or the personality of this person, or the leadership qualities of that person. I compared myself to everyone and never measured up. 

I knew the Bible spoke of church members being different, each having specific gifts and talents to fulfill their unique purpose. Romans 12:4-6a (NIV) says, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”

My head knew everyone had unique gifts and places of service, but my heart believed my place was not important.

As I tried to stack the different pieces of wood, I noticed that each weird piece had a place to fit perfectly. The really short pieces were separated and put in a different pile to be used later in our Solo Stove when we go camping. They were the only ones that fit into it, so they were invaluable. The long pieces made great first rows on the bottom of the pile because they provided a stable foundation for the rest of the wood. They also worked great on the ends of the rows because shorter ones could fall out between the studs of the shed. The ones with handles were good to fit together. When the row started to lean too far in one direction, the ones with fat ends helped level the row. The bark that had separated from the wood made an excellent fire starter.

Just like the wood, we are each made differently. We have our own talents and abilities and a purpose that only we can fill. No one else can do our job. Psalm 139:13 (NIV) says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” The Lord made us exactly how He wanted us. How awesome is that?

How about you? Do you struggle to fit in and find your purpose? God has good plans for you. You have a purpose to fulfill that will bring you contentment and blessings to others. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

He has good plans for all of us, whether we are short or tall or have fat ends or extra handles. He made you with every gift and talent needed to accomplish the task He assigned. You, my friend, fit perfectly.