The Puzzle of Life

Our family recently completed a 750-piece jigsaw puzzle. I bought it as a Christmas present and it is the first time I can recall that we've worked on a puzzle together as a family.
 
The image—Mont-Saint-Michel, the beautiful castle on the coast of Normandy that becomes an island at high-tide. Likely taken near dusk, the picture shows the medieval fortress softly lit up, and the waning color of the sky in different hues of purple and pink. Additional excitement (for me, at least) was that I hoped to take my wife and daughter there in just a few years.
 
We cleared off our kitchen table, wiped it down, removed all the chairs (so we could move around more freely), and scooted it away from the wall. For the next two weeks we would eat at the bar, and the table was solely used to work on the puzzle.
 
We began with the rectangular border, finding all the straight edges and locking them into place. This alone was no easy task, exhausting much of our first evening. Then we moved to the castle, with its tower, abbey, fortifications and rocky shoreline. The most troublesome portions of the puzzle were the placid water that surrounded the castle, and evening sky, which had no distinguishing features other than different hues of purple. The further into our task, the more laborious it became.
 
But as I struggled to find pieces that would lock together, my mind began to contemplate the similarities of assembling a jigsaw puzzle and living a life. I began to realize that life is, in reality, a jigsaw puzzle. We spend our days wrestling to figure it out. One of the key differences is that at least with a jigsaw puzzle, we have a perfect key to refer to. In life, it is true that we have examples and guides, but to know how the final outcome should look, is largely a mystery.
 
It is also true that the final image of our lives is yet to be determined. There is a heavy debate over predestination vs. self-determination. Do we choose what our final picture will look like, or is it already determined? I don't know. But from my experience, life is a combination of chance and choice.
 
The first lesson I learned: there is a lot of trial and error. How many times do you place a piece where you think it might go, only to find out it doesn't belong? That's basically what you're doing 95% of the time! Does that sound familiar in life?
 
Second, we must have patience and persistence. If we quit the first time we got frustrated, the puzzle would never get done. Sometimes, especially when we got to the monotonous stage of the sky, I became bored. If you're ever going to succeed in life, you have to endure to the end.
 
Next—teamwork. When others are pitching in and removing some of the burden, or lending their expertise, or encouraging, or perhaps synergizing with your own efforts, then the work becomes much easier. I found it was beneficial to have my daughter, Jenna, help us with the puzzle. She had assisted her friend, Macy, with several puzzles at her house, so she had a little more experience than the rest of us, and could teach us a trick or two.
 
I learned that we must refer to the key often to remember how the picture is supposed to look. Like I stated earlier, there is no perfect picture in life that will show us exactly how to arrive at our final destination. But we can look at grandparents, or read classic literature, or study theology, or whatever it may be, and learn from others who have already trod this path called life. It might just make it a little easier.
 
Sometimes I found that I had to try the same piece several times, on different days. Maybe I was trying to fit it in at a slightly wrong angle, or didn't try every side. I don't know. I just know that there were some pieces that didn't fit one day, but then fit another.
 
On the flip-side, there were a couple of times we had a piece that we thought fit, and even left it there, but later, upon further examination, we learned that it didn't belong. When this happens, it can throw off everything! How many times does this happen in life? We think we did it right, but have to humble ourselves and change a habit, correct an action, right a wrong.
 

Now, almost three weeks have passed since we completed the puzzle. It is still sitting on our kitchen table, pushed to the side and surrounded by dirty plates, left-out ketchup, envelopes of junk mail, or anything else. We scooted the table back against the wall, but haven't replaced the chairs yet. (We're waiting to do that after we mop the floor.)
 
So, what have I learned? I would have thought that all those life lessons would still be on the forefront of my mind, circulating with other heavy topics as things to ponder. Perhaps, I would have thought, that I would begin to apply them, and use them to improve my life.—Yet, the truth is, I can't even remember what they are! I can barely remember if I fed the dogs this morning! How can I apply something that I have already forgotten? Now THAT may be the most puzzling aspect of all! ♠