The pieces do fit!

I have been a jigsaw puzzle addict for sometime now.

         

 Jigsaw puzzles have always appealed to me, preferring those of at least a thousand pieces. I have several sets kept in boxes as I have not had the chance to frame them. 

Thus, Jigsaw World on Facebook easily caught my fancy. And on this 3^rd day of the year, I confess to being an addict. Not the kind President Duterte and his team are after but an addict in the real sense of the word just the same. To wit, "addict: a person who habituates or abandons oneself compulsively or obsessively to an activity, habit, or substance" (a composite of Dictionary.com's definitions of the word). 

Nowadays I do mostly images sourced online and uploaded onto the game. I like those that present me with a bit of challenge – monochromatic colors, shadows and bright lights, reflections, visual effects, etc. I juuuuuussssssttttt love those! 

I do lots of puzzles daily, for which Jigsaw World crowned me Jigsaw Shaman! My player profile reads 
(3 January 2017):
- Member since 29th June 2013           
- World rank: 10030 of 3627978         
- Level 26: Jigsaw Shaman      
- Completed: 2724 jigsaws   
- Created: 1076 jigsaws

My interest became an addiction after I set my desktop computer from the work room back into my room. It became very convenient and I found myself at it quite early – right after Bible reading/listening and most people’s rituals upon waking up.

When I realized it was already a habit beyond control, I sought God’s help to curb it. I found the Lord’s answer strange at first. He would reveal things like how I could be a better person, stronger, wiser. Hmmm, I thought, substantial things. And so, my time in Jigsaw World soon became a place where I found myself conversing with God. Disrespectful to some perhaps but to me it was simply proof that God will meet us anywhere for as long as we seek Him and open ourselves to Him.

This morning was special. 

I was moving pieces here and there on a really challenging jigsaw. It took me longer because the pieces simply didn’t seem related to each other. Then as what usually happens in the presence of a loving God, I had a eureka moment even before I completed the puzzle. 

Some puzzle pieces seem downright out of place, with nowhere to fit in. Maybe it is part of another puzzle?!!? But then as we move each piece, trying to fit it into this and that slot, we eventually discover its rightful place. Perfect! Just where it was meant to be! In the process, the image emerges. Then it begins to make sense. 

Jigsaw puzzle pieces are very much like people and the bits that make up our lives.

People --– some we find really lovable, just as some downright obnoxious. There are those we keep in our lives and are saddened when we sense they have gone a distance and grieve when we find that they simply left. There are also those who when they come to mind, trigger negative emotions or thoughts as well as extreme discomfort when they appear within our sphere. Sometimes we even wish we didn't meet them at all!

Life incidents --– some we value because through them we became happy, wiser, stronger, kinder, more patient, etc. We find ourselves reliving them and relishing the same positive emotions and thoughts they evoke each time. Some are downright painful, embarrassing, and unfortunately unforgettable. It takes a while before we could see their use in our lives. Often, we try to will them into oblivion but many simply refuse to budge.      

But come to think of it, both kinds of people and life incidents actually enrich our lives or more accurately, our characters. Proof that everything that God allows in our lives have the potential to enrich our character and enhance life for us. They do so after a process that begins with us seeking and asking and wondering to delving and studying to finally allowing God’s wisdom to take control over our human limits and His Power to make us soar. 

I feel good. I know my interest in jigsaw puzzles from way back, just like my other interests, come from a loving Father who will spare no means to reveal life’s gems to me, is relentless in getting my attention, and is patient like no other waiting for me to really see the meaning of it all. 

Forgive me that I sometimes feel puzzled by You, Lord. I now know that such struggle makes discovery much much sweeter, and the learning indelible. Etched forever in the mind and more importantly in the heart, they seep into the way I live life -- in worship and thanksgiving. Thank You!  

(I sourced the images online and thank the owners.)