Puzzling!

As far back as our relationship has existed, my husband and I have been fixing puzzles together.  In those early years of dating, he would drive out for a visit to our farm, and join me in tackling the puzzles always found laid out on the card table during the winter months.  Once married, we lived for five months in a basement apartment while I finished my schooling.  It was the middle of winter, and puzzles were a favorite distraction when school work was done.

It seems a person either loves fixing puzzles, or hates them.  Perhaps it has something to do with our personalities, or how our brains are wired.  For me, it is a relaxing past time, and a nice distraction during the cold season, when the gardening and tending of flowers comes to an end in North Dakota.  With my own personal quirks, it seems my brain is always looking to "fix things" when a problem arises.  With our current world situation, there certainly are lots of things in need of fixing.  Puzzling is my way of giving my brain something to fix, when everything else is far too overwhelming.

As a rule, the puzzles come out shortly after Christmas.  With our winter getaway scheduled in mid-January this year, it took a bit longer to get started.  The first puzzle tackled was gifted to me by a next door neighbor.  The box claimed it to be "The World's Smallest Jigsaw Puzzle", and opening it revealed the tiniest pieces I had ever seen!  234 pieces didn't seem like many, but it took longer than I expected to finish the 4" X 6" puzzle.

Next up was a 500 piece winter scene.  The pieces were a much better size to work with!  Starting in the afternoon one day, I worked diligently, and after our evening meal, my husband joined me to finish it. 

Also completed this winter was a LEGO puzzle gifted to us from our daughter's family.  The picture consisted of the typical LEGO pieces in a rainbow of colors.  Although I originally thought it would be difficult, the variety of colors actually made it quite easy, especially using our rainbow colored puzzle piece sorting trays.

Two more puzzle found their home on our card table this winter.  Another winter scene featuring a pair of cardinals followed the LEGO puzzle.  

Finally, there was a "family puzzle" with three different sizes of pieces.  It was a map of the United States made out of license plates on the backdrop of an American flag.  The border pieces were all about 2" in size, just right for child size hands.  The next ring of pieces were around 1 1/2" and the central pieces were a more standard 1" size.  Between the color varieties of the license plates, and the size differences, the puzzle came together quickly.

As I was working on puzzles this winter, I was reminded of a saying I once read.  "If you can trust a puzzle company to make sure every piece is in the box to complete the puzzle, why can't you trust God that every piece of your life is there for a reason."  Multiply this by the number of people in the world, reported to be quickly approaching 7.9 billion, and we become aware of the vastness of God's "puzzle" on this planet He placed us on.

Many times I find myself questioning what is happening in our country and around the world.  It seems so much doesn't fit the picture I'd like to see coming together.  It is at times like this I must remind myself God already knows the completed picture, and is somehow "working all things together for good". . .at least for those of us who love God and are called according to His purposes.  Romans 8:28 is a verse which reminds us of this fact.  

Often I wish I could do a better job of "fixing" the problems I see.  It is then I am reminded of the many chats I had with a dear lady named Louise Aalund.  She was in her 80's when I first took the time to get to know her, and I was blessed by her friendship until she passed at the age of 90.  We would often discuss the issues of the world, and in the end acknowledge the fact we had no power to change the world.  We could only change who we were as an individual, and hope to start some type of ripple effect in our own sphere of influence.  Only when more and more people start changing their lives to pattern the life of Jesus will we see a better world.        

In essence, God has made each of us into a "piece of His puzzle", uniquely designed to fit the exact place He has planted us.  The picture may not look quite right now, but it will eventually make sense when we get done living out the days foretold in the book of Revelations.  We've already been assured it will be a beautiful picture in the end.  And if things don't look so beautiful right now, I guess we can conclude it's not yet the end!