Do you like doing crossword puzzles – relishing the
moment you fill in the last square, confident you have done a good job of
completing the task? Or perhaps you like
the challenge of a huge jigsaw puzzle, pieces finally all falling into
place? I had the privilege this vacation
to work on a jigsaw puzzle – not a particularly huge one (only 1000
pieces). It came in a box of 4 puzzles,
so we purchased the “set” because we figured we’d have all week to plug away at
them in the evening and on any rainy day.
Since there were a few days we spent “inside”, we figured this was going
to be a great way to pass our time. I
don’t think I have ever worked on a harder, more challenging jigsaw
puzzle! And we only finished one! We set out to accomplish all four, but one
took us all our effort and that was with the two of us working on it almost
every free moment we had!
Anyone who meets a
testing challenge head on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God,
the reward is life and more life. (James
1:12 MSG)
What made this puzzle a little more challenging than most
was the complexity of the picture it displayed and the size of the pieces which
were cut. You see, the pieces were
particularly small, so although they gave you a “hint” of where they might fit,
there was still insufficient evidence of the piece “fitting” in just the right
spot. The picture was also quite
challenging in that it was flowers, block walls, cascading waters, trees, sky,
and the like. What proved to be the
greatest challenge was the stone wall house.
The house was old, made up of misshapen bricks, with five irregularly
shaped windows/doors. The easiest part
was the roof – putting all those shingles in place followed a ‘pattern’ so it
made it easier. The flowers were so
similar in color to one another; the pieces were all a little confusing.
So, what does this have to do with our passage
today? I think we are sometimes faced
with challenges in our relationships, spiritual life, or emotions which are
kind of like this jigsaw puzzle. The
pieces are all messed up to begin with, so even sorting them out into a
semblance of order is quite a challenge.
Even when we finally feel we have them in some sort of order, getting
them to actually “fit” where they are intended to fit is sometimes a whole lot
of effort.
The jigsaw puzzle also lends another lesson for us to
consider. Tests come in all shapes and
sizes. We don’t get to pick them - they kind of pick us! Just like this box of puzzles, there were 4
to choose from. All had the same
potential of occupying our attention on the rainy days and in our downtime, but
what we did not know was what one we’d be asked to complete first. Life throws us challenges – not knowing which
one we will complete first is sometimes a little discomforting. What we can learn from the “jigsaw
experience” is this – dig in, roll your sleeves up, and don’t give up. The challenge is designed specifically for you
– the only way to the finished product is to start with the first piece and
then the second, and so on.
Another lesson to take away from the puzzle – we need a
framework in order to gain a little perspective. As long as I worked on some of the “inside”
pieces, and my best friend plugged away at the framework, we were still working
independently. The framework actually
gave us some perspective on how the various pieces fit together. Sometimes we find the framework of our
challenge is actually in another’s hands – this requires an element of trust we
might not be comfortable with at first, but it can prove to be a very
worthwhile thing when we give it a chance to develop as it is supposed to.
Small pieces often don’t give us enough “perspective” to
see how they “fit”. We sometimes just
have a jumble of pieces, in no particular order, appearing to fit this way or
that. In fact, the pieces we think may
fit together are often the ones which don’t fit at all! As we put this puzzle together, we realized
we made some key mistakes, assuming something fit here or there, just because
they “looked” right. The problem with
seeing things without the “full perspective” is that we sometimes try to fit
pieces together where they don’t belong.
Only God has the full perspective, so we need to consult him often as we
try to put together the pieces of our life’s challenges.
We almost gave up on this puzzle a couple of times, but
we dug in and were determined to finish it.
We finally did the last day of our vacation. None too soon, but in just the right
timing. Life is kind of like that
sometimes – the pieces just don’t fit when and where we want them to, but in
God’s timing, all things come together. Just sayin!