Over the Christmas holiday week, we took vacation, and our
family began work on a 1000 piece puzzle depicting a scene of various kinds of
Nestle candies. We made some significant progress during the week by connecting
over 50% of the pieces. In order to enjoy things like puzzles, we intentionally
set aside the responsibilities and weighty concerns of life while vacationing,
but that couldn’t continue.
When vacation was finished, I quickly felt the overwhelming
weight of life’s many challenges resting on my shoulders again. The question of
______ and all its complexities was right in my face, relentlessly pressing me
for a response, and I didn’t know the answer. So I tried to find relief by
looking in a different direction. When I turned my head, the challenge of
______ was inches from my nose, staring directly into my eyes, demanding that I
decisively take a side, but again I didn’t know what the right answer was. I
tried to find relief by looking in yet a different direction. This time I found
a passive aggressive contestant. I found the questions of ______, which have so
quietly but persistently dogged our every step for who knows how long. Finally,
I turned and saw a new opponent. This young and fresh face boldly asked ______,
and the case was undeniably compelling such that I knew I had to take action.
Weighty, complex, urgent, important, undeniable, unavoidable questions all, and
each resting squarely on my shoulders, what was I to do?
Upon returning from work at the end of a day grappling with
these many questions, I came to stand beside our unfinished puzzle. I looked at
the scrambled pieces and the gaps in the picture. There were still too many
pieces missing to fit on the table for display, and the overflow rested in a
chaotic pile in the puzzle box. I looked at the puzzle for a moment, having no
idea where any of the loose pieces belonged. I decided to begin organizing the
pieces neatly around the perimeter. I find comfort in order. It’s easier for me
to understand the puzzle problem when the loose pieces are arranged in orderly
way. As I sorted, God reminded me that He’s not the same as me.
I realized in that moment, that Jesus is not even remotely
challenged by any puzzle. He could sit down with my 1000 piece puzzle, take a
piece out of the box, and place it on the table exactly where it belongs. He
could then pick up another, and another, and another placing each one exactly
where they belong. He could assemble the entire puzzle that way, and never have
to move a single piece twice, not even for the slightest adjustment. I love
that.
We did end up finishing the puzzle. The confusion of the Nestle
candies disappeared, into one complete and satisfying picture. In a similar
way, God continues to work in our hearts and lives, reminding us daily of His
ability when we recognize our inability to answer the questions of life. He has
proved faithful to carry us this far, and we smile with confidence that He will
continue to be faithful to solve the puzzle of life we are so confused by. There
have been many examples already, where He has done just that in part.
Therefore, we are confident that one day, we will look back and see the
complete and satisfying picture that He knew all along.
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