Life's Like a Jigsaw

Today we decided to do a jigsaw puzzle of the New York skyline. Basically, my stepsister got bored after five minutes and I spent the next hour trying to put the bottom together while she played with the puzzle pieces and we talked. But I couldn't help but think about how much like life puzzles are. A few weeks ago, at my great grandpa's funeral, my great uncle (who is also the pastor who gave the ceremony) said how life is like the jigsaw puzzles that my great grandpa spent so much time doing.

My step sister would smoosh two pieces together so well that from the backside they looked like a perfect fit. I would congratulate her, and then I would turn the piece around to set it down. And most of the time, I had to tell her that they didn't fit because the picture didn't look right. She understood, because she knew that she forced them together, but she was still disappointed. So many times in life we try to make things work, just because we want them to turn out in our favor. In her mind, if she could make two pieces fit, it would be an accomplishment. But if the job isn't done right now, we just have to take the pieces apart later and correct the mistake. And I had to explain that if we forced them together, there was a chance that when we pulled them apart they would break because they weren't meant to be next to each other.

Sometimes in life, we have to except when things don't work out, because when we can see the bigger picture, everything is worth it. In this case, it's waiting to see the picture that the puzzle creates. But on a more personal level, I have had many instances where I wanted things to work out, and I was crushed when it was out of my control. When I was ten-years-old, I had to except that my parents were never getting back together. And it sucked. I wanted to make everything better, but I could never seem to find the right pieces. Now that I'm older, I realize maybe my parents were like the close fit that seemed right from behind, but on the other side, they just weren't the right match.

These are the thoughts I've been pondering from my Life in the Lost and Found Bin.