Jigsaw Puzzle of Life (8/13/14)

This is a jigsaw puzzle kind of day - rainy and chilly - just right for a cup of hot chocolate or tea. It brings back memories of the house of a friend of mine who had a table always set up in their den with a jigsaw puzzle on it. The puzzle would be in various stages of completion. Anyone who came into that room was allowed to add a piece or two or sit for hours and work on the puzzle. When the puzzle was completed it would be glued together and framed for display, or it would be put back into the box to be brought out and reassembled at another time. In either case a new puzzle would always be put out on the table and the process begins again.

Our lives are often like a jigsaw puzzle. We are at different stages of completion.  The events of life will have its effect on that final picture. Some people enter our lives for a short time and have a minor impact, such as placing one or two pieces into that puzzle. Others who enter and stay may be far more connected in our lives. The time and effort that they place in us will have a greater influence on how the pieces of our lives are arranged.

Putting together a puzzle begins with assembling the outer border that frames the picture. Just flipping all the pieces to be right side up can take time and effort but is so necessary.  From that point pieces may be grouped together by shapes or the color and designs that are found in different segments of the picture.  From one of these groups pieces can then be chosen and the process of fitting together can begin. This sorting and organization can be tedious, but it is valuable.

God has designed the picture of our lives before we were even born. He began the framework long ago.  “For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb.  I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well.  My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16 AMP) As we come into this world and begin to grow up, the picture of our life begins take shape. Our family members, friends and the events of our lives work together as the design begins to unfold. Over the years the design continues to emerge as God uses whomever and whatever He chooses to allow into our lives.

Sometimes God may concentrate on one section of our character and abilities for a while. We will able to see evidence of change and growth in that one area.  At other times, He is working on many areas at once. When this occurs, progress may appear to be slow. Little advances seem to be swallowed up by the vastness of what is our life. Growth and progress are occurring nonetheless. If we look only at the jumble of pieces that are yet to be put in, we miss the beauty of this life we have been given.

In many scenes, the sky may seem like an endless project. Finding the correct pieces can be difficult because they all look so similar. Even when small sections of pieces are connected, the sameness of the area lessens the excitement associated with more colorful sections. Far more progress may be required to produce a sense of satisfaction.

Like the sky, everyday life can seem like a mundane repetition of trying to make very similar pieces fit together. We do the same things over and over and don’t readily see what God is developing in us. It is in this mundane activity that the character traits of patience, perseverance, self-control and other virtues are formed. These may not have the pizzazz of the gifts and talents we have been given, but they are critical for the total beauty that is within us to emerge.

That jigsaw puzzle, left on the table at my friend’s home, did not have a timetable for completion. Sometimes the work went quickly with great sections assembled in a single day. Other times there was little visible evidence that anyone had shown interest in it for many days. The right date for it to be completed was simply the day that the last piece was put in. There was no rushing the process. 

God is not on a rigid timetable with the work that He is doing in our lives. What we may consider slow progress in the growth of character may be just as He has planned it to be. He has an eternal perspective on His creation. Any great artist does not rush and neither does our Heavenly Father. We are His creation, put together in His manner and in His time.  “For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” (Ephesians 2:10 AMP) And He will display us for all the world to see. 

Whether your life is currently in an exciting growth stage or the seemingly endless blue - sky stage, allow God to put the pieces together exactly as He has planned.