Renewal of Registration

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12:1-5 ESV).

This month began the new year of registration for my vehicle. As is true in each of the states, there is an annual renewal that must be made with the county of your residence in order to legally operate your vehicle on public roads. The registration renewal process in Texas is relatively simple. You may go online or use the USPS to send your fee and registration form into the county tax assessor’s office and you will receive your renewal sticker for the front windshield. You may also actually go to the assessor’s office and do it in person, receiving the sticker immediately. I prefer the latter. It seems to ease my mind to have it in hand and on the windshield. I am much more at ease as soon as I scrape the old one off and apply the new one. It is a signal to me that I can begin a new year with driving that vehicle. I suppose that personality trait is also at the root of why I like to work on jigsaw puzzles. I like them all, big, small, round, reversible, 3D and even the ones deemed “impossible.” I have learned early on that it is much easier while working puzzles to start at the beginning. Most would say that the first thing to be done in working any puzzle is to complete the border and then work on small sections. I do that; however, I always separate the pieces first. I place them on different parts of the work surface according to color which allows me to generally group the section to be worked on. The border is done first; but everything else falls into place from there. It always seems like the puzzle gets a lot easier when the border is completed. Now, there’s a parallel to vehicle registration, working puzzles, and our Christian life. The apostle tells us what the beginning of transformation is in our lives. It is the renewal of our minds. It is first in our step to become all God desires for us to be. Remember, Lent is all about transformation. As this season of Lent begins, register yourself with Jesus again. Use a moment of prayer now to renew your faith and trust in His work in your life. No matter how hard the puzzle of your life might appear, remember he is the border. Work in from there.