Since our no 2 daughter has been away skiing with her older siblings no 2 son has wanted to do some jigsaw puzzles.
I had a box of 10 that I bought from the op-shop (thrift store) ages ago that had never been opened, they are quite lovely and only 300 – 500 pieces each, so not too big.
We have already completed two and we are now onto our third one. As I was sitting placing the puzzles together it came to me that life is just like a puzzle.
When God opens the box of our puzzle and He spreads the pieces out and puts them all the right way round, our life is beginning.
Then God being God He probably doesn’t need to do the border first (like I do) but let’s just say that He does.
So as we piece the border together we see where we are coming from, what family we are placed in.
As we grow the pieces are placed and they become denser with each year that we age.
Each little puzzle piece holds a bit of the bigger picture of our life story.
Some of these pieces are filled with pain and sorrow, some are filled with longing. Maybe the piece that finishes off the picture of our future life partner is a long time coming. Maybe we have our husband or wife and the piece that is our children seems to take forever for God to place, or maybe not at all.
As I was doing the puzzles I was convinced at times that there must be pieces missing because I just couldn’t find the exact ones I was after, the exact colour and shape for what I needed.
There is a great guarantee in our life’s jigsaw puzzle and that is that God never looses any pieces, He has them all in front of Him. Sometimes He has to put pieces in later because of our own choices making it difficult for Him to complete His plans. Sometimes our plans take over and then we have to wait for His perfect timing on placing the pieces exactly where He wanted too.
That being said, the puzzle will one day be complete and I pray that my husband and myself will be in His word and placing ourselves and our family in the right position so that He can place the puzzle pieces without us getting in the way.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
![DSC_1978[1]](http://darlingdownsdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/DSC_19781.jpg)
Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
You will find me linked up at some of these great blogs.
I LOVE this picture! It is a perfect analogy for life and our walk with the Lord. Very blessed to be visiting from Soul Survival.
Thanks for visiting Winter and for leaving me such an encouraging comment. Blessings to you this week.
I think this is a wonderful analogy for life! As we travel our life journey, we never know what pieces will fall or be placed where or even when. Sometimes we have to wait, though we know the piece is there, it’s just not ‘time’ for it to be placed. Then other times, many pieces may be placed in a shorter period of time. Either way, it all happens as it’s supposed to! 🙂
Thanks you so much Life Breath Present for your words and I appreciate you stopping by. Blessings
What a great analogy! I found an online Jigsaw puzzle game and I love it! I’m visiting from Sharing His Beauty blog linkup 🙂
Hey Angela, thank you for your kind words and thanks for stopping by. I already have a scrabble app, I’m not sure a jigsaw one would be good for me 😉 Blessings
So true! And just to imagine that God sees the cover of the box before he puts the pieces together…the end from the beginning…love the little snapshots of your sweet family life…so appealing…many blessings to you ❤️
Hey Beth, good to hear from you. thank you for sharing your thoughts on my post, and yes it is amazing to know that God already sees the beginning and the end. How comforting to know that He is in control too. Blessings to you.
Loved this. You said this basic truth so elegantly.
I’ll never look at a puzzle the same way again. (In my case, the puzzle is an ancient aeroplane in the barn, dismantled crudely and higglety-pigglety, and the small parts unlabeled.)
Thank you so much Andrew for your kind and encouraging words and thoughts on my post. Blessings to you.
Love the visual of a puzzle! Life does feel like a giant puzzle sometimes, and we do wonder where some of the pieces are!
I like this line from your post, “Sometimes our plans take over and then we have to wait for His perfect timing on placing the pieces exactly where He wanted too.”
I do think we may slow down the process at times.
Thanks for a great reminder of God’s perfect timing.
Came over on Raising Homemakers.
Hope you have a blessed day~
Melanie
Thank you so much Melanie for your kind and encouraging words. I sometimes wonder how quicker or differently things would be if we didn’t get in the way of God at times. Blessings and thanks for stopping by.
A great analogy. I’ve had the itch to bring out one of our full puzzles as my preschooler is discovering his own love for jigsaws….I’ll definitely be thinking about this as I put my own together.
Thank you so much Steph for sharing your thoughts with us. We are up to number 4 puzzle and they are getting harder, the last one took over a week. Thanks for sharing, have a great weekend. Blessings
I’ve been thinking a lot about life being a puzzle and how He fits things together in His time. Sometimes it seems to take forever to see what He is doing, but it’s always worth it, rather than try to cram in pieces that don’t really match up.
Thank you so much Jen for sharing your thoughts with us and you are so right, the waiting is always worth it. God’s plans for our puzzles are always perfect. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by. Blessings
Great post! These words really spoke to me this morning: “Maybe the piece that finishes off the picture of our future life partner is a long time coming.” Hope-filled words that remind me that God is in control and knows the plans God has for me. Thank you for that reminder. Blessed to be your neighbor at Coffee for your Heart this morning.
Thank you Tara for sharing your thoughts with us and I am so glad that you stopped by from Coffee for your Heart. Isn’t it wonderful that God’s plans are perfect. Have a great weekend. Blessings
What a great image to use for me to recall the piece by piece building of my life! And to remember that God does, indeed, have a plan for me, for my life.
Visiting from W2W.
Thank you so much Linda for visiting and sharing your thoughts. I appreciate your words and it is wonderful that God has a plan for us. Thanks and blessings to you this weekend.
Thanks for sharing! I too would’ve been worried a piece was missing!
Thank you so much Kelly for your thoughts and for stopping by. Blessings to you and thanks for hosting.
I find the process of putting together a jigsaw puzzle most relaxing — and I definitely enjoy the 300-500 range. Can’t imagine those 1500, tiny tiny pieces!
Like you, I’m always convinced that we’ve lost a piece, and it surprises me how, when we found it, it fits perfectly. But it doesn’t look like it should . . .
mmm you are so right Carolyn the piece never looks how we think it should. Thanks so much for sharing and stopping by. Blessings to you and have a great weekend.
This is so picturesque, and what a great metaphor for all the “missing pieces” and questions we have in our walk with God.
And aren’t puzzles just a great way to sit and connect as a family? You’re making me wish for a rainy day and some time to do a puzzle.
Thank you so much Michele for your comment and thoughts. I love having the puzzle in the kitchen and we can just put in pieces as time permits – a few moments per day. Blessings to you and thanks for stopping by.
I never was good at the puzzle things, BUT my husband was wonderful and could do so much and sometimes I got them from the Christian shop place and he did gloriously re: about 3 of the Noah ones. Anyhow, this made me smile. Thank you.
Great post, Terri!
“Each little puzzle piece holds a bit of the bigger picture of our life story.” <— Powerful truth! Loved visiting with you this morning! Peace and many blessings to you, Love! 🙂
Hi Terri, beautiful analogy. God never loses any part of our puzzled lives!that’s awesome truth.
It may look hopeless at some time but it will all come together when God is done.
Blessings to you
I love puzzles. When I was a child, I would sit and work on 1,000 and 1,500 piece puzzles most evenings. Life is sort of like a jigsaw puzzle. We allow God to put the pieces of our lives together. Thank you for sharing at Weekend Whispers.
I love this analogy. So perfect!
What a wonderful God we have.
Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).
Wishing you a lovely week.
xoxo