I love doing puzzles! I’ve been putting puzzles together for as long as I can remember. I find them very soothing to get lost in a picture, a picture that I see once I begin and then once I end. You see, once I pick out which puzzle we are to put together, I no longer look at the puzzle picture. The only way I know where a piece might go is to carefully inspect the pieces themselves. I start with the outside pieces first to guide me along the way and then I typically start with any sky pieces and work from there.

The idea of no longer looking at the picture came to me one day when I wanted to see if it would take me longer and how much more of a challenge it would be. It was like a game, really. Then, it just became fun. I noticed that when I didn’t look at the picture, I actually paid more attention to the puzzle and to the process. What colors are in this piece? What shapes do I see emerging?

I often see life like a puzzle. God already knows what our completed puzzle picture looks like. He picked out a puzzle of life for us. He puts together the outside edges for us and our life begins to fill in the rest. The sky is like our innocence. We begin life trusting those around us. It’s like blue skies all the time. Somewhere while growing up, though, we begin putting in the pieces of the house or barn: we begin building walls.

Walls can be both good and bad. Healthy walls give proper boundaries while unhealthy walls keep us inside and others outside.

Then comes the different shades of grass. Where is the grass actually greener? The constant comparing of which life is better. There are roads and different paths that are completed one piece at a time. What looks like a complete mess and just a bunch of pieces slowly starts creating this beautiful picture.

What I really love about the puzzles, though, is what you don’t see. You don’t see all the time it took to complete. You have the other people who helped to complete the puzzle with you. And, you can only see one vantage point of the picture. What is happening on the other side of the house? What is down the path another mile?

You might only be seeing one vantage point of your life. Don’t forget that you are still building your puzzle piece by piece. Allow others to come alongside of you and help out when you get tired and stressed of trying to figure out how to put all the pieces together. You are still creating your masterpiece. Don’t give up too soon and miss the blessing.

I hope you have a blessed new year. Time to put in another puzzle piece of your life!

© 2018 Susan M. Sims

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