Puzzle Pieces

The frame of the puzzle was complete, and nearby, a jumbled pile of pieces waited to be fitted into the center. The size and shape had been determined -- now what would the picture be? Looking at this scene on a friend's desk, I saw a perfect analogy for our lives. It's easy enough to agree that God has a specific plan for each of us, but we all know that finding out that plan seems to be a wild goose chase at times. Too often, the problem is that we want God to show us the whole picture all at once. But in the puzzle of our lives, we don't get the box with a picture to refer to -- only God has that. He gives us the pieces, one at a time, and our task is to put them together.

Throughout your life, you will collect pieces: where you were born, how you were raised, your personality, influences, experiences, and opportunities all contribute to the picture. Sometimes they are edge pieces, defining the shape of your life. Those tend to be the easy ones because they're pretty logical. They expand your boundaries and set clear limits. Then comes the daunting part: filling it in.  The rest of the pieces don't have a straight edge to guide you -- they could go anywhere. And God rarely hands you each piece in the order it was made to fit. The pile of loose pieces gets larger and larger, and as impatience and frustration build, the tendency is to start smashing pieces into any possible space just to make some progress. Often, one piece must wait for another that may come much later to connect it to the picture.

Sometimes God will hand you a piece you can't make sense of -- it's dark and ugly, and doesn't appear to have any place in a beautiful picture. So you shove it under the pile and struggle on, when that may be just the piece that was needed to make an important connection. Other people will have their own view of your puzzle, and sometimes, perhaps with the kindest of intentions, might hand you a piece and say, "Here, try this one." But if it didn't come out of God's puzzle box with your name on it, it won't fit. And try as you might, it will only cause fruitless stress. You may be able to make it work for the moment, but the picture is guaranteed to be a sorry mess of the picture God had in mind.

When nothing seems to be fitting together and you feel like you've been staring at an empty frame longer than you can stand, don't give up! Ask for help from the One who knows the picture, because without it, your chances of making a right connection are very slim indeed -- your life is far more intricate than any 1,000-piece puzzle. With His guidance, keep trying patiently until something fits, and wait for Him to give you the next piece that might make all the difference. Nothing could be more sad than to come to the end and have all the pieces, but no beautiful picture because you refused to work with what God gave you.

"His divine power has given us

everything we need

for life and godliness."

2 Peter 1:3