Life's Puzzles

I recently took a chance on a second-hand puzzle I found at a flea market; it was so beautiful I just couldn't pass it up! While coming to the end of this puzzle (maybe around 50 pieces left?) I found myself seriously doubting whether or not all of the pieces were there. A small sort of panic and disappointment began to surface, but I did my best to keep it under control because - after all - it's just a puzzle! 

See? It's all there and just as beautiful as I imagined it would be. :) [side note: the photo does not do the colors justice!]

Once it was complete I thought about how life has a way of throwing various puzzles at us. Everything gets all jumbled up and such a mess, which makes it very difficult to see the beauty that's coming at the end. "The end" could mean literally the end of our life as we know it, or just the end of whatever trial or struggle we are going through. 

Time after time we go through trials and struggles and it always seems to happen pretty much the same way: We go from seeing a huge mess and mass confusion, to problem solving, trial and error, patience, sometimes frustration and doubt mixed in there, sometimes panic, sometimes wanting to just give up and scrap it all, (and so on) and then all of the sudden we see clearly and it all makes sense. 

It seems pretty easy while putting together a puzzle to just enjoy the process ... for the most part. However, when it comes to actual trials and struggles, it seems pretty much impossible to enjoy the process. This gets "easier" with time and maturity - we begin to catch our bad attitudes quicker and see trials as blessings in disguise - but as far as I know there will always be some kind of something to overcome. It's a refining process. We learn. We grow. We mature. And sometimes we stumble, but then get back up and keep pressing on. 

I am who I am today because of all of the puzzles in my life that I've had to piece together. God has been so good to me. Even in my darkest hours I can see his love and mercy. I have never been a quitter, and I don't ever plan to be.