Mark Sorensen When I was a kid, I loved working on jigsaw puzzles. Seriously. My whole family was pretty hard core about it. In fact, we actually had a designated jigsaw puzzle table in our dining room. For Christmas one year, my mom and dad bestowed upon me the unthinkable: a 1,000 piece deluxe puzzle. Now I was fairly young and this was way beyond my jumbo 20 piece Sesame Street puzzle. It was, in fact, the first “big person” jigsaw puzzle I had ever received and, make no mistake, I tackled it with a holy passion. Piece by piece I pulled each out aligning the straight edged pieces first, putting them together. Then looking at the specific pictures on the box, carefully placing them in the positions they go. Days turned into weeks and weeks months and eventually, on my own, the day came when the puzzle was almost complete. I remember seeing the few remaining pieces I had left and this picture which had slowly come to fruition over the few months I had been working on it was almost complete. Not sure why, but my mom called me into the kitchen and when I got up from the puzzle, I leaned too hard on the table and it flipped. Seriously. I saw jig saw puzzle pieces launch gloriously into the heavens as if they were never gonna return to earth. It’s funny the memories that stick. I remember trying to throw my body on the table to stop what was already set in motion but when the moment finally came to a halt, I was only able to recover a very small portion of my “almost completed” puzzle and the rest? In pieces on the floor.
Ever been there in your life? You are working diligently day by day taking the piece that God has given you to arrange and put strategically into place and as days turn into weeks and weeks months and sometimes those months even turning into years, the picture is almost there. Then, for one reason or another, your table gets bumped. The pieces of what you thought was a picture of what you knew was a completed work of art flew into the air and as much as you try to protect “your” picture, you are left with only a small corner and what is needed is you getting back on the floor and starting over again.
I was reminiscing about this with a friend recently and was shocked by their response. They replied, “Honestly? I’m not convinced that a bumped and broken jigsaw puzzle is a bad thing. in fact, it’s pretty exciting. This means that God is not finished with you. You are getting a new picture. Isn’t this really the most exciting part of any puzzle?”
Bam. A holy moment.
Find strength in these words.
- Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
- Jeremiah 29:10 says, “For I know the plans that I have for you”, declares the Lord. It goes on. and “If you look for me wholeheartedly, I will be found by you” says the Lord.
- And Jesus adds, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, live righteously, and the Father will give you all you need.” (Matthew 6:33)
So, my friends. Maybe your puzzle is a work in progress, maybe you just started. Maybe you were almost finished with it and someone or something has come along and flipped it upside down. Take heart.
A new picture is available. It’s coming. Dig in and believe. Take what God is giving you daily and then watch what God will do!!!
