Do you know those jigsaw puzzles that are like 10,000 pieces? How you get so excited at the idea of pursuing something so challenging and beautiful; only to find out 10 minutes in all the pieces look the same and don’t fit together very easily at all. That’s how life feels right now. The possibility of finishing something well that was painstakingly difficult, yet fun and exciting some of the time and maddening the other time.
You see the whole picture in its beautiful entirety on the box, yet still slightly aware it takes a ton of pieces fitting perfectly together to make the image complete. The pieces never quite fit together like you think they will. So we try to force the similar ones in places they don’t belong or try to manipulate the pieces so they’ll fit together. And just like life, the pieces break or get lost for awhile so there seems to be a hole or a missing piece most of the time. You wonder, how much longer until I get this thing done! When will it be over? Getting wrapped up in the tiny little pieces having to fit together perfectly, instead of the act of putting them together.
As I try to put the pieces of my life back together, I find myself forcing a piece here and there or trying to fit something in a place where it just won’t go. I want the whole beautiful picture so badly, I just try and complete it without the gaps or holes lasting too long. I don’t like to look at the picture with missing pieces. It feels broken and ugly to me. But I’m learning crooked, broken pieces with torn edges look worse and they’re harder to fix. If you’re missing a piece or two right now, I pray we learn to accept the holes and wait for the right time or perfect piece to fall into place. – Nikki Brewer