Puzzle Pieces....

puzzles....
they can be complicated. Like the 3000 piece ones that take you a long while to complete and consist of many (tiny) frustrations over the course of its completion.
They can be super easy, like the 10 piece-sized puzzles which i did over and over again with my kids when they were 3- to teach them ABC`s, colors, and numbers.
They can be a lot of fun, especially if done together.
They can be frustrating- especially when you lose the last piece to tie it all together.
They can be rewarding- when you look at the end result and see it as it was actually meant to be.


I was out with my youngest about a week ago. He finally wanted to cross-country ski with me, so I gladly (even though i was shivering in bed fighting my bug) got up and out and I was so very glad I did. We had a wonderfully perfect time together.
His little heart opened up to me, and as we skiied one in front of the other, we talked.
He told me what he thought of skiing. He talked about the full moon that was almost in the night sky. He talked about the wild animal tracks we kept skiing by. Then he told me I should be a writer one day because I write so much, and that if I stacked up everything I wrote it would be higher than our house. THEN he told me about how dissapointed he was because he hadn`t got to use his new telescope he recieved as a Christmas present yet- because the sky had been cloudy every night since he had gotten it.
On this topic...he all of a sudden seemed to get very old. Ìn his 7 year old way, he went on to say that everything in his life seemed like a puzzle piece. Sometimes things didn`t fit together the way he wanted. Like his telescope, he said. He had it, wanted to use it, but hadn`t been able to. Even though he wanted to fit this piece in (and use his scope), it wouldn`t fit. Just like when he`s playing with his older brother and they finally decide on a fun game to play, but you (me- his mom), tell him it`s time for bed. ``Life just seems to be full of pieces that don`t always work for me.``
I was quite astounded this thought came out of his head. Maybe it was the fact we had been working on a difficult puzzle over the holidays together...and you know when you`re always doing something, walk away from it and close your eyes....you still see what it is you were working on. And your thoughts keep going back to it because it seems that is all you have been staring at for the longest time....
It was his way of expressing how he felt about the frustration of not using his new toy...it was a comparable  frustration to what he felt not getting a piece into it`s spot.
Maybe his words were put there for me so I had something more to ponder.


And I am.


Life does seem to be full of pieces we`re just not quite sure where to put. Or not sure if they`re to fit at all. Sometimes....the pieces seem to come from a completely different puzzle box!
Then when we DO place one in the correct spot, what a relief and satisfaction we feel. It`s one step closer to figuring something out. It`s one step closer to being completed!!


I was introduced to a wonderful dvd by a truly great and caring friend last month. It`s called EPIC by John Eldridge. Amazing. It talks about this very thing....except it comes across as our life as a story....every day, week, year as a chapter in this story. And it`s huge. And we all have a part in it. (I highly recommend this dvd....and if you want to borrow mine you are very welcome!)
But this year I want to live like this. Every situation, issue, problem, delight, and wonder that faces me in every moment of each day....needs to be seen as a puzzle piece that I`m putting together in some way. If ever it DOES get completed... what a sight it will be to look at!
No....Some pieces won`t fit where I want them. Not every angle will work. So I need to try to look at it differently.
Some pieces aren`t quite ready to be placed yet. So I need to wait.
And maybe....some pieces really don`t belong. And I think that`s ok too.


Anyway....enough contemplating and pondering. I just wanted to share what was shared with me on a ski with my sweet little guy.


Hope you have a wonderful week ahead. I am planning on a busy one.....so my postings may still be a bit sporadic. Feel free to comment or e-mail me with your thoughts on puzzle piecing and stories of life.


This is going to be a growing year for me....i hope!
Isn`t it exciting (even though frustrating and awful at times!) to wonder and imagine just what it is our puzzle will be in the end of all this!


Happy Day and week to YOU! :)