The Art of the Puzzle
What do you do when faced with a problem? Big or little... kids, work, broken car, out of money, spouse...how do you react? One Christmas gift this season has given me a new perspective on handling problems.
When I was in elementary school, each year we had a class Christmas party. Each child brought a $1 wrapped present. Back in those days, everyone "shook" the present before opening it and tried to guess what it was. Well, it never failed, every year my mom bought a puzzle for me to take to the party. First of all, most kids didn't want a puzzle and secondly, everyone knew what it was when you shook it.
I never was too happy about taking my wrapped puzzle, but I never complained. The gift I really wanted to take was a book of lifesavers. I thought that was the coolest gift ever and my mom rarely splurged for such an item. If she did splurge, it was for the "knock off" brand of lifesavers which tasted mostly like bad Halls cough drops. So, I settled for my puzzle and happily headed to my class party.
This Christmas I was totally surprised when my son asked for a puzzle. When I mentioned it to my mother, she was extactic! His Grandma couldn't wait to purchase the item and made sure her grandson was well stocked with puzzles. (I'm sure memories of buying $1 puzzles for parties flooded her mind as she shopped.) Well, Grandma has upgraded since I was a kid. My son didn't get a dollar store puzzle, he got a 3 pack puzzle set with a 100, 300, and 500 piece puzzle. My how times have changed.
We set up the card table in our bedroom and it became the puzzle working station. My husband and son have steadily conquered the first 2 puzzles and are now ready for the 500 piece challenge. As I watched these 2 work, I learned some valuable lessons on handling problems.
First, a puzzle is one giant problem. It has a million teeny-tiny pieces that must be put together in an orderly fashion to be useful. Life is like that. We have all these minute problems, situations, details, dreams, and broken relationships that must be put together in order to be useful. Accept this as part of life!
Second, when working a puzzle, you know the object is to put all the pieces together, so you steadily look at each piece, thinking, studying, deciphering how to make it fit in the big picture. Why is it when we get a challenging situation thrown into our puzzle of life, we flip out or quit or cry? I have not once seen my husband or son yelling at a puzzle piece and neither have given up. That would be absurd. Life is about putting all the pieces together and steadily deciphering how each piece fits into the big picture!
Lastly, confidence and joy come when you resolve to finish. Once these 2 men completed the 100 piece, they were ready to go for the 300! It was so fun to watch them high-five and their chests filled with the air of success when the first 2 puzzles were completed.
What about you? Have you resolved to finish your marriage even if the pieces seem broken? Are you determined to hang in there with your child who has gone the wrong way? Will you work daily to find the job you lost months ago? Are you determined to put the pieces of your dream in place? In what area, are you being challenged to finish? Don't stop until every piece is in place.
I once heard someone say, "Life is like a box of chocolates," but I would like to contest that "Life is like a puzzle just waiting to be worked." So...get busy and work it out. You'll be amazed at the view when the last piece is put in place.
When I was in elementary school, each year we had a class Christmas party. Each child brought a $1 wrapped present. Back in those days, everyone "shook" the present before opening it and tried to guess what it was. Well, it never failed, every year my mom bought a puzzle for me to take to the party. First of all, most kids didn't want a puzzle and secondly, everyone knew what it was when you shook it.
I never was too happy about taking my wrapped puzzle, but I never complained. The gift I really wanted to take was a book of lifesavers. I thought that was the coolest gift ever and my mom rarely splurged for such an item. If she did splurge, it was for the "knock off" brand of lifesavers which tasted mostly like bad Halls cough drops. So, I settled for my puzzle and happily headed to my class party.
This Christmas I was totally surprised when my son asked for a puzzle. When I mentioned it to my mother, she was extactic! His Grandma couldn't wait to purchase the item and made sure her grandson was well stocked with puzzles. (I'm sure memories of buying $1 puzzles for parties flooded her mind as she shopped.) Well, Grandma has upgraded since I was a kid. My son didn't get a dollar store puzzle, he got a 3 pack puzzle set with a 100, 300, and 500 piece puzzle. My how times have changed.
We set up the card table in our bedroom and it became the puzzle working station. My husband and son have steadily conquered the first 2 puzzles and are now ready for the 500 piece challenge. As I watched these 2 work, I learned some valuable lessons on handling problems.
First, a puzzle is one giant problem. It has a million teeny-tiny pieces that must be put together in an orderly fashion to be useful. Life is like that. We have all these minute problems, situations, details, dreams, and broken relationships that must be put together in order to be useful. Accept this as part of life!
Second, when working a puzzle, you know the object is to put all the pieces together, so you steadily look at each piece, thinking, studying, deciphering how to make it fit in the big picture. Why is it when we get a challenging situation thrown into our puzzle of life, we flip out or quit or cry? I have not once seen my husband or son yelling at a puzzle piece and neither have given up. That would be absurd. Life is about putting all the pieces together and steadily deciphering how each piece fits into the big picture!
Lastly, confidence and joy come when you resolve to finish. Once these 2 men completed the 100 piece, they were ready to go for the 300! It was so fun to watch them high-five and their chests filled with the air of success when the first 2 puzzles were completed.
What about you? Have you resolved to finish your marriage even if the pieces seem broken? Are you determined to hang in there with your child who has gone the wrong way? Will you work daily to find the job you lost months ago? Are you determined to put the pieces of your dream in place? In what area, are you being challenged to finish? Don't stop until every piece is in place.
I once heard someone say, "Life is like a box of chocolates," but I would like to contest that "Life is like a puzzle just waiting to be worked." So...get busy and work it out. You'll be amazed at the view when the last piece is put in place.
"Consider it all joy when you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete." James 1:2-4
posted by Stephanie Chase @ 4:32 AM
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