Picture Perfect Puzzle

In late November 2013 my 10 year-old niece was visiting me at my apartment and she noticed a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle on my table that I had been working on. She asked if she could try and I said yes. She kept moving to different areas of the puzzle and repeated over and over that it was hard. I saw frustration grow; and then she gave up.

The next day I began to work the puzzle in my leisure time and the Lord began to speak to me through the puzzle. At that time I was really struggling with doubt about whether I’d get a second chance at marriage and have more children. In the wake of my 40th birthday the devil was having a field day with my mind as you can imagine.

I began to pray when a few lines from Psalm 16 arose:

⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. ⁷ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. ⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

I stood back and looked at the puzzle from a distance then I began to cry because the download from the Lord came in a quick series of reminders of His promises using the puzzle as an analogy.

• When He formed us, He also had a complete life to go with us. He didn’t hand us a 1,000 piece life and only include 999 pieces. All the pieces we need are part of our inheritance and are in the box. 

• When we begin puzzles the first thing we assemble are the borders. Why? Because it’s easy and tells us where our boundaries are, where we don’t need to outside of in order to complete the puzzle. It gives us the assurance that all the pieces of our puzzle will fit within those boundaries. AND it assures us that no one else can take from our puzzle. They are BOUNDARY LINES which are not meant to be trespassed in either direction. They are secured.

• Every piece has a place and timing in which it will be laid down. I noticed that I would find main parts of the puzzle that I liked in the box and want to work those first before the larger more boring parts on the outer edges. (My puzzle was a Thomas Kinkade picture of a beautiful cottage house with a mother looking out onto her front street. Her 2 children and 2 dogs ran out to greet her husband who was arriving by carriage). The Lord was telling me not to allow my mind to put so much emphasis into the husband, house and children I want because they won’t connect to my life right now. It’s not their time. It was time for me to continue doing the boring sky and flowery parts. He also instructed me to enjoy the different shades, shapes and victories I could claim as I assemble those parts. So even though we know that what we want is coming—we are to enjoy what we are working on during the waiting.

• Going back to my niece for a minute: she had made a comment that a piece would fit only if she could just cut the little corner a bit. And in another piece she tried to shove it in. I told her that if she did that, at the end the puzzle would be distorted. It would look nothing like it was supposed to. I was reminded of the consequences of trying to cut corners as tempting and innocent as it may seem. I want the picture of my life to look exactly how the Lord designed it to be. 

• When working the trickier sections I often turned to the box cover to get guidance on where pieces might belong—or if they belonged to the area being worked. Similarly, the Lord gives us His Word as a guide during those times. And He doesn’t always tell us exactly where each piece goes but gives us a reliable source for direction. 

• Finally, I just loved working the puzzle because the picture contained everything I wanted. In the end, I got it all. It was perfect!

So whatever pieces you are waiting for during this season of your life remember that they are in the box. Enjoy where God has you working now and seek His Counsel when it gets tricky or boring. Don’t cut corners and trust that those life events our hearts desire will show up.