While piecing together a 500-piece puzzle the other day with my son, I was hit with profound insight that helped shed a little light on my own current season of uncertainty. I share it with all of you today in hopes of providing a hug of encouragement to those of you “puzzled” by your own current season of head scratching.
Here goes…
The joy of assembling a puzzle is not just found in the finished product. There are so many different moments all along the way that aid in the overall adventure.
… like the moment my son started humming Bob Marley and made two puzzle pieces dance together.
… or the moment he freaked out at his little brother for taking pieces and said, “HelloOoOoO… we need those! We’re creating a masterpiece here!”
… or the moment he asked his dad to join us, “You’ll be missing out BIG TIME if you don’t join the party, dad.”
… or the moment he paused to take a break and said, “You’re doing some good work mom, keep it up!”
… or the moment he asked me if I smell something. I said no. He said, “Exactly! Popcorn is missing. What should we do about that?” Seriously? What a kid.
Point is, if the finished product is the only focus, we miss so many beautiful moments all along the way.
I would have missed knowing his fierce determination to finish something every time he said, “We not going to bed until we finish this thing, ok mom?”
I would have missed noticing the way he squints his eyes when the wheels in his head are turning as he tries to figure something out.
I would have missed the way he positions his tongue sideways when he’s concentrating on connecting two pieces.
I would have missed opportunities to encourage him when his sighs got really deep and his shoulders hung.
Yes, the mid-way moments are what get us to the finished product, but they are also the moments that lend signs and cues all along the way that help lead and guide us to know, learn, grow, understand, appreciate and acknowledge the important people, the important moments, and the important things going on around us at all times.
Is this not like the puzzle of our lives?
From the time we’re born to the time we die God is creating a masterpiece out of each one of us.
It’s so easy to get stuck in one particular season and think it’s the most important piece, but it’s not. One season, one piece, one circumstance does not make up the whole picture. Each piece is simply lending signs and cues along the way that will help lead and guide you to the next piece, and the next, and the next.
Your whole life is the picture and you’ve gotta zoom out from time-to-time to remember that.
But for right now, for today, smack dab in the middle of the mid-way, your job is to simply do the work, notice the important moments, and trust that your masterpiece is unfolding.
”For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10
