My family and I were working recently on a 300-piece puzzle that my son had received from my mom for his birthday. It was a picture of the United States. I told him that we would glue it, frame it, and put on his bedroom wall after we finished putting it together.
He had some help on the puzzle from friends that had come over on the day of his birthday. After they went home, our family kept working on putting it together. We were almost finished when we discovered that the last piece was nowhere to be found. We looked everywhere! I even texted my friend to see if her children accidentally had the missing piece in one of their pockets. They did not have it, and it was not anywhere in our house. How frustrating it was to get this 300-piece puzzle almost finished just to find out that a piece was missing!
I called my mom to see where she had gotten the puzzle. To our surprise, we found another one that was exactly the same! I bought an identical puzzle for that one missing piece. It was well worth it so we could finish!
Our lives are similar to puzzles. God knows exactly what the final picture will be. God knows which piece will fit into the puzzle next, getting us closer to becoming the completed picture.
Psalm 119:105 says, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Some may be experiencing a difficult time right now: a heart broken by disappointment, a health situation that is unfavorable, the loss of a loved one, or trouble at work or in the home. They may not know how it will all turn out or which “piece” of their lives should come next. Remember, God is in control and knows which piece to fit into the puzzle of our lives next.
There is an old song I used to sing with my mom called “Broken Pieces.”
“Have you failed in life’s battle
To accomplish your plans?
Is your heart heavy laden?
Do you fear the Lord’s command?
Do you feel that no one loves you
And there’s no use to try?
Just bring your cares to Jesus,
Your soul He’ll satisfy.
You may feel that there’s no hope
Broken hearts just cannot mend;
Tho’ you’re torn in many pieces,
Christ can make you whole again;
Storms of doubt blow all directions,
But don’t you be afraid.
God can make all corrections,
He made a body out of clay!
Pick up the broken pieces
And bring them to the Lord;
Pick up the broken pieces,
Trust in His holy Word;
He will put them back together
And make your life complete.
Just place the broken pieces
At the Saviour’s feet!”
– Ruby Kitchen and James Martin, Jr.
Sometimes we try to take control of situations and fit pieces into our puzzle that do not quite fit. If we are missing just one piece or have a broken piece, we think that the puzzle is incomplete. However, if we let God take control of our puzzle’s progress, it will turn out better than anything we could have possibly imagined! Job 23:10 says, But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
by April Pineda