LIFE RIGHT NOW â—½ YOU
Give me a box of irregularly shaped one inch cardboard pieces and I’ll be unavailable for hours. Days. Don’t expect me to answer calls, respond to texts, or make dinner for a while. I’m very busy. A woman on a mission. Suddenly consumed with interjambs and blanks (those are the fancy words for the rounded bumps and hollowed-out holes on each puzzle piece – and, yes, I looked that up).
Recently I found myself tucked on the floor with pieces strewn about the coffee table in front of me. The box showed a beautiful, vivid photograph of gentle hummingbirds gathering nectar from luscious flowers. My job was clear - recreate the vibrant picture. And the process was simple. Dig through the chaos of shapes to find the corners, build the edges, then tackle the middle. Sorting colors into piles to help with locating the exact spot each piece will fit, eventually connecting 1000 individual fragments into one cohesive image. While solving this current puzzle before me (and enjoying takeout for dinner) I began thinking - life’s a puzzle, isn’t it? It’s confusing and doesn’t always make sense. It can be difficult.
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And each one of us is a solitary unparalleled piece.
Every “dissectologist” (the officially unofficial name given to puzzle people) brings their own strategy to the table. With patience and an eye for detail, we put each piece in place until we’re left with a charming landscape, soothing nature scene, or just about any picture imaginable. As a puzzler, I seek out the corner pieces first. But if life is like a puzzle, who then is the cornerstone of our lives? Who are we seeking first? For me, it’s Jesus. I mean, sometimes I might throw a tantrum first (still working on not doing that…), but when life gets crazy and seems as chaotic as a freshly opened bag of puzzle pieces dumped onto the table, I try to remember to go to Jesus. He is our foundation. He is our cornerstone.
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“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 3:11
Next in my puzzling endeavors, I search for the edge pieces, the borders. Borders are like boundaries. Guardrails. To keep from crashing into confusion, we need to develop physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual guardrails. How do we create those standards that, when bumped into, guide us back to safety? In January I started a read-the-Bible-in-one-year study plan and can instantly feel the guardrails surround me after I’ve spent time absorbing God’s word. When we spend time studying the Bible and listening to God, we’re building the guardrails that will keep us from driving off the cliff.
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“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise,
making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:15-16
The final pieces of the puzzle are all those middle pieces. A menagerie of shapes, sizes, and colors. Each with their own bumps and holes. Isn’t that just like us? We’re the middle pieces. None of us just like the other. Different sizes, different shapes, different colors. Different thoughts and experiences. We all walk through life facing various bumps and holes along the way. God sorts through our strengths, giving each one of us a gift meant to be used to complete His perfect picture. Each of us a part of the whole. When we use our gifts, we become interlocking pieces that fit together. And as each piece connects with another it paves the way for more and more pieces to join. The exuberant leader joining the reserved helper. The giver with the encourager. Each of us uniquely gifted and valuable pieces of God’s beautiful creation united as one. A perfect fit.
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“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work,
it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Ephesians 4:16
It seems life goes astray when we forget we’re just one small piece of the puzzle. We walk around with bumps and holes, holding onto the belief we can do it alone. Acting like we don’t need anyone or anything else. Each doing life all on our own, forgetting to seek out the cornerstone that will ground us, failing to build the guardrails that will guide the way, and unwilling to use our God given gifts. But as any puzzler knows, the picture on the box will never come together until we connect the pieces. And in life WE can only come together when we connect with each other through our loving God.