Last night I had a conversation with a dear friend. He asked me if I thought God gives us more than one puzzle to solve at a time. He then said “I hope not.” Wish I could have told him what he wanted to hear but as I contemplated the question, I realized life is a puzzle. Sometimes it is just a 10 piece puzzle, sometimes 100 and sometimes 1000 piecs or more. The puzzle could be a relationship, finances, job, marriage, health or just about anything. And yes, sometimes we are dealing with more than one puzzle at a time.

I remember putting puzzles together with my nephew when he was a child. It started out small with maybe three or four pieces to teach him about shapes and forms. I watched with amazement how quickly he was able to solve the puzzle. He wanted to play again and again and each time he put the pieces back quicker and easier. Without even realizing it, the puzzle was teaching him cognitive skills, problem-solving, hand and eye coordination, and even self esteem. Aren’t these the lessons we need to take with us on our journey of life? Who knew what began as a toddler toy was teaching him the skills he needed to solve different types of puzzles he would face as an adult?

Isn’t that similar to what happens in our life? We might change the word from puzzle to problems or trials and tribulations but whatever we label it, we are still trying to fit the pieces of our life together. However what we learned through our early problems, will help us solve the larger problems. We need to be reminded of how the pieces of the puzzels in our past eventually were put in place and resolved. God puts the pieces back together, fits them tightly in place and reminds us He is the only one who can do this. What puzzle piece do you need to fit in place so your puzzle will be complete? Ask God to put the pieces of your life back together. That was how my unraveled life became whole again and God will do the same for you.