I once read somewhere that men’s brains are like waffles and women’s brains are like pasta. More than just making me hungry, the point they were trying to make was that men tend to think of things in a more compartmentalized fashion whereas women tend to see the fluidity of everything.

While I am a woman, this stereotype doesn’t apply perfectly to me. I’ve realized that I don’t see the interconnected nature of life at first. When I’m on autopilot and not thinking deeply about my life or what’s going on around me, I tend to segment and separate everything. Each piece of data goes into its own compartments where nothing can touch.

It sounds so neat and organized — all areas of life in their own separate spaces with no reason for any of them to touch or interact.

Thankfully, that’s not the way life works. What I am learning more and more is that one thing always affects another thing. If I’m torn up because of something at work, I will bring that home with me. If I’m struggling with trusting in one relationship, chances are that bleeds into other relationships.

God didn’t create us to be compartmentalized, He created us to be holistic humans who are immensely complex.

My first reaction when life begins to erode my compartments is to try and reinforce them. Despite my efforts, that never really works out all that well. I’m discovering that instead of trying to maintain my own self-imposed boundaries on spheres in my life, it’s better for me and those around me to try to find strategic and meaningful connections. When I am able to see how the different components of my life work together, and even enhance each other, I am more able to be me as I navigate through each different area or circumstance.

For me, one of the most important connections I attempt to make throughout my day is between God and the work I am doing. I tend to be a workaholic and, if I’m not careful, I can find my identity in what I do instead of who God says I am. I can easily make my work all about me and my desires instead of God and what He wants. But when I am able to see that my work is an opportunity to glorify Him, then I am more inclined to be more balanced in my work life. If I understand that my life doesn’t revolve around my work, but my God, then that changes how I live.

I often find myself wondering what our world would look like if we dared to live a more integrated life.

Instead of viewing ourselves and others as individual and isolated pieces, what if we courageously viewed things in a more holistic light? What if we invited God into our work? Our friends into our hobbies? Our family into our dreams? Our passions into the church?

I believe that we can be an example to a world that’s craving connection. But before that happens, I believe we have to begin internally. Before we lead anyone else in the gift of connection, I believe we are called to take off our fragmented filters and view life through a more holistic lens. And my guess is that, as we do this intentional and beautiful work, we will begin to see that we truly can glorify God no matter where we go or what we do.

Pieces of Our Lives