For some time I have been thinking about the word ‘fragmentation’ and how that can happen in our inner/outer lives, and the organizations we dwell in.

The writing below is by B.J. Johnston, a friend and colleague of many years. In response to my last blog, You Want it Darker? The Darkest Psalm in the Scriptures, he sent me a deep and beautiful post he had written called ‘Defragmenting the Soul’. B.J. had not published this reflection but shared it with his own circles, and I asked him if I could post it on my blog site. I found it so personally meaningful, and wanted to share it with you.

Defragmenting the Soul

Removing Air Bubbles, The Tetris Principle, Making Room for God, and When God Rearranges the Pieces

Every so often, God interrupts our carefully arranged lives—not to punish us, but to prepare us.
We often think spiritual growth comes by adding more: another book, another commitment, another responsibility, another opportunity. Yet God’s way is frequently the opposite. Before He fills, He empties. Before He builds, He clears. Before He sends, He prepares.
In recent months, several simple pictures have converged in my heart. They seem unrelated at first, yet they all tell the same story.
A computer that needs to be defragmented. A jar with trapped air bubbles.
A game of Tetris where every piece must find its proper place.
A room that must be cleared before new furniture arrives.
Together they describe the quiet work of the Holy Spirit.

There was a time when computers slowed down because information became scattered across the hard drive.
Nothing was actually missing.
Everything was still there.
The files simply weren’t together anymore.
The computer spent more time searching than accomplishing.
The solution was called defragmentation.
The computer gathered scattered pieces and placed them side by side until everything flowed again.
I wonder if many of us live fragmented lives. Our gifts are here.
Our experiences are there.
Old dreams are tucked into forgotten corners. Pain occupies one room.
Joy another. Relationships another.
Callings another.
Nothing is necessarily wrong.
Everything is simply scattered.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit doesn’t give us something new.
Sometimes He lovingly gathers what He has already placed inside us.
He reconnects old dreams.
He restores forgotten promises.
He brings together experiences that once seemed unrelated.
Suddenly life begins to flow again—not because we have more, but because what we already carry has been brought into alignment.

Removing Air Bubbles

When concrete is poured, trapped air weakens the finished structure.
When resin is poured, bubbles cloud what should be transparent.
When water flows through pipes, trapped air interrupts the flow.
Life develops air bubbles too. Fear.
Offense.
Pride.
Distraction.
Unresolved grief.
Hidden anxiety.
False expectations.
Each one interrupts the steady flow of God’s life through us.
Sometimes the Lord gently taps the vessel. Sometimes He lets us sit quietly. Sometimes He applies pressure.
Not to damage us—
but to release what doesn’t belong there. The bubbles rise.
The surface clears.
The vessel becomes stronger.

The Tetris Principle

Anyone who has ever played Tetris knows the temptation. Force the next piece wherever it seems to fit.
Eventually the board fills with awkward gaps.
Panic begins.
Everything stacks higher.
Movement slows.
Then comes the inevitable moment. There is no room left.
Life often feels that way.
We hurry.
We force.
We fill every available space.
We say yes too quickly.
We carry yesterday into tomorrow. Then we wonder why we feel crowded. God rarely seems hurried.
He knows the shape of every piece before it arrives. Sometimes He waits.
Sometimes He rotates the piece.
Sometimes He removes one altogether.
Not because He has forgotten us—
but because He sees the whole board while we only see the next move.

Making Room for God

One of the most spiritual things we may ever do is create empty space.
Space in our calendars. Space in our hearts.
Space in our schedules. Space in our conversations. Space in our thinking.
The world fears empty space.
God often works there.
Creation began in apparent emptiness.
Silence often precedes revelation. Waiting often precedes direction.
Jesus Himself frequently withdrew to lonely places before stepping into public ministry.
Perhaps making room is not inactivity. Perhaps it is faith.

When God Rearranges the Pieces

Looking backward, many of life’s interruptions become appointments.
The closed doors.
The delays.
The waiting seasons.
The unexpected friendships. The disappointments.
The long preparations.
Each one seemed disconnected at the time.
Then one day God quietly begins moving the pieces.
A conversation from twenty years ago suddenly matters.
A forgotten skill becomes essential.
A painful season becomes someone else’s healing. Nothing was wasted.
The Master Builder was never confused.
He was arranging a picture we could not yet see.

Conclusion

Perhaps the Lord is doing less adding than arranging. Perhaps He is defragmenting your soul.
Perhaps He is releasing hidden air bubbles.
Perhaps He is rotating the next Tetris piece.
Perhaps He is asking you to clear a room before He fills it.
Perhaps the waiting is not empty after all.
The Master Craftsman has not forgotten where every piece belongs.
He is preparing a life that flows with greater clarity, greater peace, and greater usefulness for His Kingdom.
When He finishes arranging the pieces, we will discover that nothing was accidental.

Everything belonged exactly where His loving hands placed it.

(Thanks so much, B.J., for these profound and insightful words.)