As a child I loved doing connect-the-dots. A page splattered with random dots and numbers felt like a mystery waiting to be solved. I remember the faint drag of the pencil across the page as the numbers rose, my excitement growing with each line to see what the dots would reveal. With each line drawn, the picture became clear–mystery solved. Coloring the picture was the icing on top.
My friends and I also played the dot game. Any scrap of paper filled with lines of dots started the fun. Each player would take a turn drawing a line between dots. Once four lines were drawn to complete a box, I wrote my initial inside. Soon the paper filled with boxes and initials while each of us waited for our turn. The person with the most complete boxes won. I didn’t realize then that the game was teaching me strategy—the way small, deliberate choices could lead to a bigger win.
Even today, I find myself searching for ways to connect the dots in life, trusting that with time, the bigger picture will come into focus. If each person and event in my life is part of the greater whole, then all parts–like those dots–affect each other. I cannot isolate one event and expect to understand it. Meaning comes as the dots connect.
Admiration over Comparison
That meaning came this week as I listened to my son’s podcast on comparison. I have often fallen into comparison in my life. As a young girl I compared my stance and my handwriting to other girls. When I was a young mother, I incessantly compared myself and my children to others. Worst of all, as a woman, I have compared myself to other women–objectifying us all. Those memories connected in my mind as I listened to the podcast, forming a picture and a desire of what I want to be. Later, I had the opportunity to practice admiration rather than comparison, and it felt like completing the box and claiming a victory with my initials in it.
Life often feels like a page of scattered dots too, its meaning hidden until you take the time to connect experiences one by one. I believe each event is knit together for my greater good. No one event is better or worse than another because they all offer opportunities. As I live out today, it enlightens me about situations from yesterday, last week, and even last year. Together, they form a picture of who I am becoming and guide me as I connect the dots of life still unfolding.