Melissa Valerio
January 29, 2024 National Puzzle Day
Who here likes jigsaw puzzles? They’re fun, right? And sometimes challenging, depending on the number of pieces you’re working with. How would you feel about putting together a puzzle with 31,025 pieces? That would be one piece each day for 85 years (perhaps a little more considering leap years). Regardless, that’s a lot of pieces. Well, that’s exactly what we’re doing each day of our lives. Putting the pieces together that God has given us. The only difference is, we don’t get to use the box top as a guide. We have absolutely no idea what the end picture is supposed to look like. That’s even more challenging than the idea of working with 31 thousand pieces. However, given our experience with jigsaw puzzles, we can apply this spiritually.
One thing we know about puzzles is this: Pieces that look like they should fit together don’t actually fit. Even if we try to force them together, they simply don’t fit. I wonder how many times I’ve tried to force things to work out in my own life that simply don’t line up with God’s plan. And how much time I wasted trying to make it work out the way I thought it should. But on the heels of that, how many pieces fell right into place the first time I put them together? Some things in my life fell right into place with no coaxing, manipulating, or convincing. They just worked out beautifully with no effort at all. Another point…..other people will have a fresh perspective. They have valuable insight that I might have been blind to because I’ve stared at the same picture for too long. And probably my most favorite fact….all the pieces are necessary to make the picture complete. Not all the pieces are pretty or have color, but they’re all needed for the final product. That feels a lot like life. Each day is a puzzle piece. They’re not all pretty and some are very dark. But even those pieces have their place in the grand scheme of things.
Prayer: Heavenly Jesus, Your plan for my life is exactly what I want. Even when I have no idea what You’re doing or how You’re going to work things out, I trust that You’re putting the pieces together in the right places. Have Your way in my life, and to You be the glory. In Your divine name, Amen.
Action: Try doing a jigsaw puzzle without looking at the box top first. (Have someone else select it and dump it out, then hide the box). This is similar to how God is using the pieces of our lives to put together His master plan. Only He knows what the complete picture looks like. It’s our job to trust Him through it.
image: freepik.com