Puzzle Pieces

I've always enjoyed a good jigsaw puzzle, even the thousand piece ones.  There is just something about them.  One place I worked even had them set up in the aisles.  It was a great way to take a mental break and I think that's an awesome motivator to provide your employees (not to mention the conversation that happens over the puzzles).  But, not to go all "Forrest Gump" on you - life is a lot like a puzzle.  I had this thought while at a church governance seminar yesterday, married it with my current theme about re-engaging with my story, and the rest is just the rambling of my blog post.

God sees the full picture.  That much I know for certain.  We get a glimpse of parts of it at times, but I don't believe we see the whole thing.  We do see enough from him to work on what he has given us.  And, we see enough to sort through the "pieces" that are in front of us to make some sense of them (or at least to trust God when we don't see it completely).  But we do have a task before us - we're supposed to find the right fit for the puzzle.

We bring a unique perspective to this as well, kind of like the family who keeps the puzzle in a room, assigns general sections to family members, but lets anybody work on any area where they find a matching piece.  Just walking away from our own "focus" and seeing something else sometimes lets your mind see a different perspective.  In doing that, we exercise our God-given creativity in filling out the puzzle all within his master creative plan.  We are given the chance to trust his vision and participate in it.  In doing so, we help those around us who are "stuck" or who seem bent on "forcing" a piece in to stop, reflect, and regain perspective of God's vision.  Together, we join forces and make something beautiful as part of God's Great Story.  And doing it together brings the joy only found in community.

The Crooked Path was never meant for complete, continual solitude.  Sure, we may toil in loneliness for a season, but we aren't alone.  We have others who are working through the same challenges and we all have the "Master Puzzle Visionary" who we can trust.  As we travel, we pick up our pieces, try to find the spot for some of them, scratch our heads at times, and maybe even trade with fellow travelers.  But we know, deep within us, that we can trust God.  He sees the whole picture in its finished state and finds it beautiful.  He sees us as beautiful.  That's a comforting thought on a cloudy day.