Pieces of a Puzzle

Every Christmas and sometimes during other family vacations, my sister purchases a puzzle. My nephew, my mother, and I spend time putting the puzzle together. Sometimes, my other nephew, sister, and father assist. What started as a fun family activity became a therapeutic tool for me. I discovered the stress relieving quality of puzzles. They take my mind off whatever else is going on in life as I focus all my attention on fitting together one piece at a time

While grocery shopping at Walmart one day, some marketing genius set up a puzzle display in the middle of the walkway between the toy section and home decor section.  A peaceful portrait of a cabin by a lake in the woods greeted me in the middle of my path from toiletries to edibles. I imagined myself in the picture—snuggling up by a fire inside the cabin or taking the canoe on a solitary adventure. I added the 1,000 piece puzzle to my shopping cart. 

I never completed a puzzle by myself and knew nothing about those little idiosyncrasies necessary to be successful, such as the challenge of completing a puzzle without stark contrasts of colors or shapes. The subtle shade variation of the scene I chose was going to demand more from me than mere patient endurance.

Step one –completing the border—simple enough. I managed to finish this step in short time. After an easy inauguration, however, I spent several hours in a futile attempt to make sense of the plethora of tiny pieces stacked in front of me. Unable to connect more than one or two interior pieces during this time, I left the puzzle sitting atop the table for six months or more.   

My sister’s family, along with my brother-in-law’s parents, came to visit for Thanksgiving. My brother-in-law’s father, a puzzle enthusiast, entertained himself by working on my puzzle. Even he, a practiced puzzle solver, commented more than once on the complexity of my choice. My younger nephew, the one who spends the most time helping with the holiday puzzle pictures, gave up rather quickly and pursued more leisurely forms of entertainment.

During this time of year, seasonal depression begins to manifest in me. This particular year, additional life stressors thrust me into a terrible fit of anxiety that I could not pray away. As I sat at the table to join in tackling the sky, the puzzle became an unspoken symbol for my life.  My co-puzzlers appeared to match pieces with relative ease while I sat in silence inept to find even one. I confronted my pathetic life-failures as I held two matchless pieces, one in either hand.

My heart shouted out to God, an unspoken plea for reassurance, “If I’m going to be okay, I need you RIGHT NOW! Let me find a piece.” The next piece I picked up fit. 

After that remarkable answer to prayer, I commenced work on the puzzle, giving it an hour or two of my due diligence from time to time. It was no longer a gut wrenching chore, but rather, a relaxing pastime. I learned tricks to making the process less stressful, such as separating like colors and like shapes. I enjoyed watching as the picture took shape. The closer I got to completion, the fewer pieces I had to work with, the easier the task became.

Almost three months after that Thanksgiving holiday, I finished the puzzle, minus two missing pieces. As I admired my handiwork, I remembered that appeal to God in the beginning and the completed (or nearly completed) puzzle became a symbol for my life once again. In the beginning, the task seemed overwhelming, undoable. I felt like a lost and helpless looser. Now, looking at my masterpiece, I felt accomplished and proud.

My life mirrors the puzzle. If I focus on the big picture, my hopes and dreams seem unattainable. If I take a step back, invite God in and enjoy the process, make a plan and take my time, focus on one piece of the puzzle at a time, I will eventually see the fruits of my labor. I will eventually see my masterpiece as God intended.

Like those two missing pieces, my work is never quite complete. While I have breath, I will always have work left to do. The most important first step, though, is to ask God to partner with me. Without Him, I will never complete the puzzle.