Puzzling

   Mayre and I like to do puzzles together. They are great time wasters, but are a fun thing to do with two people. They can be worked on together or separately, when the time is available. Nothing like just walking through a room where a puzzle is laid out, stopping for a moment, finding a piece, and then moving on. Or better yet, finding a piece and then several more that fit together in that spot.

   As I looked at the one that we have laid out before us right now I thought "there must be some life lessons in this puzzle application", maybe I could write about that this morning.

   I realize that I need to have a plan for solving it, a puzzle, as well as life. When I dump all the pieces out on the table, they are just a mess of different shapes, colors, sizes and sometimes lines. I know that they all fit together, unless I had an inept puzzle person (or machine) packing the 1000 pieces in the box for sale.

   So how do I start? I have already looked at the top of the box to see what the scene is supposed to look like so I can get the big picture. I looked at it the first time when I selected the puzzle to work, because I wanted to see if it would be fun and actually possible to work. I did not want 1000 pieces of clouds and sky with no defining shapes or even words to key on.

   So I have the puzzle pieces dumped out, and I see what it is supposed to look like when finished. Step II: Determine a way to start.

   My first task is to determine the boundary limits for the whole picture. I know from the box that, when finished, it will cover an area of 24 inches by 30 inches, so I know what space it will fit into. Then I know it has sides that are straight, so I can try to separate out all the edges and put them into one pile. When these are put together, they will form the framework for the puzzle, and they will also give me colors and shapes to hang the other pieces onto.

   Since I can't put all of the strategy of puzzle-solving into one blog post, maybe I should stop the process now and see if there is an application to life.

   What do I use for my boundary limits when I look at life in general and mine in particular? I need a roadmap, an authoritative source to refer to as things come up. I need a source of truth, absolute truth, that I can put my confidence in.

   I'll take The Bible for that source. I believe it is God's Word and applicable for any and all of life's situations. That will be my boundary, and I can trust it to put the rest of the puzzle pieces of my life into. But I can't just lay it out on the coffee table and trust that I will get what I need. I have to actually use it.  Just as I use the shapes, colors and sizes of the various puzzle pieces to make the puzzle fit together, so can I use the stories, the commands, and the encouragements of The Word to make my life fit together.

   I'll bet there are more life application lessons in that puzzle on the counter if I just look and see how they "fit together".