THE PUZZLE

Another birthday gift has given me Christmas inspiration.  

Our son gave me an Advent Puzzle.  Each day I open a box and work those pieces. 

I work puzzles all year long, so why is this one worth writing about?  Because this is not about working a puzzle.  It is about a journey and this time I will work the puzzle in sections – each section leading me to the next and the next and the next, until I reach the end. 

I always think my life is a puzzle.  I sure do not know what is happening next and the pieces of my life do not seem to go together in any certain order.  I cannot find the border pieces and it is difficult to tell the real me from the reflection in the water.  AND when I think I am getting this puzzle of me put together, I realize there is a piece missing.  That is the absolute worst! 

A puzzle lays still.  The pieces just waiting to be put together, BUT in real life, not only do the pieces not lay still, the number of pieces seem to increase.  I will almost have a section completed when I meet someone new and they become a part of my life.  My life puzzle gets larger.  Or someone I care about will die and my puzzle will have a hole.  Or my puzzle will take a twist, such as a broken leg, and a whole new section is added.  Or my mind – okay, best if we don’t try to understand my mind.

Does any of this make sense to you?  If you are not a passionate puzzle person, you might not understand my analogy.  Putting together a puzzle is a process and I usually think I have the process figured out.  Life is a process and we often think we have the process figured out.  BUT often God has other plans and that is why a Christmas puzzle is an inspiration.

I think Mary’s life was pretty straight forward.  She was espoused to Joseph and they had all their plans made.  She knew exactly what would happen next.  She would move from her parent’s home into a home with Joseph.  That was the plan – until -- her life instantly became a puzzle and the pieces no longer fit together.  Gabriel, in one visit, placed Mary on an entirely different path -- a path that had never been taken.  The only instructions came when Gabriel told Mary, “No word from God will ever fail.”  With that she found puzzle piece number one:  TRUST.

After that, Mary found many pieces for the puzzling road ahead of her.  Elizabeth proclaimed “blessed is the child you will bear” and her “baby leaped in her womb.”  Mary’s second puzzle piece was AFFIRMATION.  Mary received two puzzle pieces from Joseph.  Joseph showed Mary great RESPECT when he decided to not expose Mary to public disgrace.  He also gave her SUPPORT after the angel commanded him to take Mary as his wife.

You see, the pieces we need to complete our life puzzle come from many, many sources:  Our family, friends, and church.  Our experiences and strangers.  What we see and read.  Life.  Yes, pieces are found everywhere.

AND the puzzle of my life – the puzzle of your life – is surrounded by the secure love of God.