Puzzle Piece

Think about how God has strategically created you from your hair, eyes, mouth, lips, nose, body shape, and even smile. Think about how He created the framework and entered pieces of you piece by piece for you to be made whole. So consider yourself to be a puzzle. God has built the framework of us(our outer parts) but what about the inside of ourselves? Of course, he has built that but it comes with time and patience. There are times we try to take control or build on what God is trying to accomplish and finish in us and we try to build our own puzzle pieces, which may include how we love, how we live, how we treat others, how we honor, how we take on life challenges, who we date or marry etc.

Psalms 139:13-14-“ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Story Time: I can remember my Grandma Erma was a puzzle connoisseur. She absolutely loved puzzles and would sit for days working on 500 to 1000 or more puzzle pieces. She had this dining room which sat a table and it was for her puzzles only. We knew not to go in and touch the puzzle, but as we got older she would allow us to help her. Once she had it completed she would hang them up on the walls like pictures. I believe it was her way of having her quiet time and it was a sense of peace for her. I remember hearing her on Sundays, including other days, she would play gospel music, have her coffee, a cigarette, and would be in the dining room working on her puzzle. LOL. She was a spunky something! In retrospect, it took time for her to complete the puzzle. Grandma Erma eventually had my mother, myself and sister, and a few others navigating towards doing puzzles. It is such a peaceful and unwinding activity to do. Yes, it takes hours and maybe days to complete, but it is worth it.

So just imagine how much time it takes for God to complete the puzzle of our lives. From infancy to adulthood and beyond, we are uniquely created. Our lives can sometimes be a puzzle. We don’t always know which puzzle piece to place within ourselves because it may not be shaped to fit. Each part of us has been uniquely sculpted within God’s holy ordinance. It takes God time to put us together but in the end, it is so worth it! Even though we may only see pieces of the puzzle, God sees the whole! All of the scattered pieces have no form or meaning, but once they are put together they make a beautiful picture. Trust Him to complete in you what He has already planned.

Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12. In those days, when you pray, I will listen. 13. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

There were times in my life when I thought I knew how things were supposed to work out. I was in control (so I thought). Everything seemed to go well and would look to be in alignment. Yet, nothing went the way that I thought it would. I have always been a planner and organized and nothing would work out the way I had hoped or the way that I thought God wanted them to. Imagine putting a puzzle together and you are trying to manipulate and place a piece that is not meant to go in that particular spot and you get frustrated. Well, my beloved’s how often do we do that with God. We want Him to do things our way instead of His way.

Isaiah 55:8-9-“ My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Activity: Go find a small puzzle this week and take some downtime to sit, complete it, and reflect on how God is putting your own puzzle pieces of your life together. Enjoy the process of building this puzzle and journal it as you build. What did you learn? How did it make you feel? What can you change as you reflect? This can be time away from your spouse, children, family, and just time for yourself. I hope this has helped you in every way.

Love You! Love You! Love You!

Stay Fabulous!

Melani