When my husband was in the hospital following heart surgery, I spent a lot of time sitting and waiting. When Alan was napping, I needed something to occupy my attention. It was hard to focus on reading while keeping an eye on what was happening in the room, so I purchased a small jigsaw puzzle that fit on a board I could hold on my lap. I could work on it, or put it down, at a moment’s notice whenever necessary.
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Besides giving me something to do, it offered a contrast to my emotional state. Watching over my husband, hoping and praying for recovery, I often felt fragmented, at loose ends. The situation was beyond my understanding, let alone my control. Puzzle pieces, however, were something I could control. I could take a jumbled collection of tiny cardboard pieces and fit them together to form something that made sense and was nice to look at.
I experienced a sense of accomplishment every time another piece fit neatly into place. Best of all, once they were in, they stayed put – no unhappy surprises.
Unlike my real-life situation, the puzzle came with a box lid revealing what the final result would look like. Although that was very helpful in doing the puzzle, I’m glad I didn’t have a box lid showing me where the real-life events were heading; I was hoping for a different outcome. But through that time, I learned to trust God, growing stronger and more confident in Him.
When the final picture of my life as Alan’s wife was completed, I was able to trust God with the next part of my personal puzzle. He knew when and where each piece would fit. God promised in Hebrews 13:5 to never leave me or forsake me, and in Jeremiah 29:11 He declared that He had plans for me, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give me a future and a hope. Going forward, He has also assured me He will complete the good work He began in me (Philippians 1:6).
Over time, more of the picture emerges. It has been an adventure letting the Holy Spirit show me which piece comes next and where it fits. While some pieces have been more colorful than others, they all work together to form a picture of God’s goodness in my life, helping me trust Him even more with the parts of the puzzle yet to come.
God hasn’t given me the box lid, but He knows the finished picture, and that’s enough for me.
If you would like to hear solid Bible-based teaching about discovering God’s goodness in everyday life, come visit us at Charis Christian Church, 4811 E. Julep St., Suite 101, in Mesa.