Puzzles

While I was preparing some stuff to be given away to a family with children younger than mine, I had a bag of puzzles and pieces that needed to be put together. I must say I was very glad that no one else was home as I was attempting to do these preschool puzzles... It would have been embarrassing to see how long it took me and it was only 40 pieces!

I am not a puzzle maker, solver, puzzler (is there a name they have?). A beautiful scene cut into 500 random pieces does not say "challenge" to me but something more akin to "NIGHTMARE"! And those 3-D puzzles...Where do you even start with those? At least on a regular puzzles I know that first you find the corners and straight edged pieces, but once it gets to the inside parts I'm completely lost when trying to analyze pieces of color and where this tiny piece could possibly fit in the picture from the box.

My life so often feels like a thousand random pieces.
Somehow all these things are to fit together to make up me and what God's plans are for my life but it's not like I have any understanding of how this will all fit together.

How is it that my unmet expectations, and this particular opportunity, and this relationship, and the struggle of another relationship fit together?

How do my abilities and foibles and strengths and weaknesses all work together?

How do the events of my past and the possibilities or lack of possibilities in my future coincide with everything else so that all the edges match and the pieces lock together and form something, well if not beautiful, something that resembles a whole life?

I don't have the mind to ponder it all, the patience to examine the characteristics of each piece, or the vision to see the possible big picture from the pieces scattered around me.

I take great encouragement from God's words which tell me...

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son...Romans 8:28,29

Notice all the things this verse doesn't say.
It doesn't say that every piece will be yellow and cheery and have smooth edges for well we know that some things are dark and their edges are sharp.
It doesn't say that some of the pieces will be fit together in the puzzle of our lives.

It says that God will cause all the pieces to fit together and it says that when He is done, arranging these pieces of my life, that His image will be more visible in my life.

I'm not sure exactly how that's going to look.

I don't have the puzzle box top.

I really do hate the vagueness and confusion and all the tiny pieces of puzzles.

But God is the one who is putting this puzzle all together.
I don't have to figure it out because that is His job.

And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. Philippians 1:6 Amplified Bible