Puzzles. I can’t count the hours I have spent trying to piece together a puzzle. It becomes methodical, hours ticking by staring at tiny pieces trying to connect them in order to form a scene depicted on the cover of a box. Ideally it seems so simple, find the corner pieces, form the outer edge, and fill in the rest where they belong. It isn’t until you’re halfway through that you glance up and realize, how am I not already done and where in the world am I going to fit all of those unclaimed pieces?!

I have been in situations in my life that can only be described as puzzling. I can stare at the situation in front of me for hours, days, years even, and see no place for it among my pieces already resting in their concreted place. These moments cannot be found on the box cover, they were never pre-planned or recognized in the big picture of my life. They simply appeared with no apparent place to stick.

I would love to think of each of these moments as serendipitous in a way, finding something rare and new just when you least expect to find it. However, only perspective can make these unclaimed pieces seem purposeful. The question with time will become: Can that odd piece that once stood out, that had no place, even be found among all of the other pieces when the puzzle is done?

It is easy to lose focus on the peculiar pieces, find security in the corners and borders safely placed, and to become overwhelmed with the pile of pieces yet used. Although it is uncertain where the next piece may fit, I hope you have faith that it is there for a reason. Eventually…all of the pieces will fall into place.

“‘Who in the world am I?’

‘Ah, that’s the great puzzle’.”

-Alice in Wonderland