The most recent puzzle I completed was a picture of Christ. It was almost as difficult as the 1000 piece Disney puzzle and yet it only had 500 pieces. The reason it seemed more difficult was because it didn't have a whole lot of different colors. It was either a lot of green, brown or tan. There were some other colored pieces that had multiple colors in them....it was His hair. So, really, no big help there, either. I, of course, did the border first. That proved a bit difficult because I was doing it in an area of the house where the lighting wasn't all that good AND some of the pieces 'kind of' fit' where they didn't belong. Had I had proper lighting I would have noticed certain pieces didn't belong there because the shade of green didn't match the adjoining pieces. When I realized the edges weren't matching up, and the puzzle was becoming more and more difficult, I found a flashlight and looked closer at the puzzle and saw a few mismatched pieces. That's when I also realized that I needed to not just match pieces but shades of the right color as well. ALSO, some of those mismatched pieces clearly didn't belong but, because of the poor lighting and in my haste, I 'made' those pieces fit. Upon closer inspection, I could see the gap between the wrong pieces, made the correction and moved on. And that was just the border!
As I'm working on the rest of the puzzle I was getting a bit discouraged. There were sooooo many green pieces with slightly different color variations and it just seemed impossible, and I mean REALLY impossible! But, I am not one to give up easily so I trudged onward. I soon noticed a pattern. As I was looking for the 'next piece' I discovered that the previous few pieces in the row I was working on were in a pattern of 'two prongs' then 'four prongs' or something like that. So, I did something that anyone with OCD would appreciate and understand....I separated my puzzle pieces into groups. Not color groups as I had been doing but rather by shape. All 'one prong' pieces in this area, 'two prongs' in this column, '3 prongs' in the next area, etc, until all the pieces were out of the box and neatly organized around the border of the puzzle on the table.
So, I ORGANIZED my 'mess' and started trying to find the pattern in each row I worked. Now, some of you may be thinking "That's how I do it all the time!" Well, not me. I mean, I HAVE done it that way before but not so early on in the puzzle.
As I continued putting the pieces together I saw the finished product coming along. I had the box cover to follow if I needed direction so that was good, too. I wasn't left alone in my quest to complete this puzzle, I had some sort of direction.
When I completed the puzzle, I sat back and admired the beauty of what I had just completed. Not only the 'joy' of finally finishing (it took a few days) but of what the actual puzzle picture was....a BEAUTIFUL picture of Jesus Christ. Then it hit me.....a blog post.
Like I said, the Disney one was difficult because of the odd shaped border and the cutouts. However, there is writing on some of the pieces and many different colors so I was able to match things up quicker. As you look at the puzzle of Christ you may wonder why I thought it was so difficult. But if you were to have been in my seat, putting the pieces together was more difficult because there was less "direction" to match things up to.Here's the "lessons" I learned from the puzzle of Christ:
First - Always start with the basics (the border). You figure out what your 'basics' are....family, church, prayer, work, friends....whatever it may be in your life.
Second - Don't just try to make things fit in your life (correct puzzle pieces in the right place). Sometimes we try and put things in our lives that aren't necessary but we do it anyway. Sometimes what we want in life just isn't right. Quick example - I dated a guy my senior year of high school. We weren't the same religion but he eventually converted to my faith and was baptized. I had received a special blessing when I was 16. This blessing gave me direction in life (Patriarchal Blessing) and blessings I could receive as I was obedient to the Lord. In this blessing it suggested that I would marry a man that had served a mission (in so many words). I wanted my high school sweetheart to be the man I married so I encouraged him, even pushed him to go on a mission. He wanted nothing to do with a mission. I kept pushing and prodding him to go. I was trying hard to make that puzzle piece fit in the puzzle of my life. We later ended up breaking up. He was a great guy and no, he never served a mission.
Third - Don't ever give up when things get tough (pieces not fitting together). We will all experience trials and challenges in our lives. Hopefully we learn and grow from them but NEVER just quit because it's "too hard". Get out that "flashlight" and see what's really going on. Examine your life, the choices you're making, the things you're doing. You just may find that things are difficult because YOU'RE making it difficult. Sometimes we just need to step back and see where we need to change, and then MAKE THAT CHANGE (I know, easier said than done, right?). Our challenges will never go away but we just may learn how to better navigate the next challenge/trial we face.
Fourth - Organize yourself (put the pieces in groups). If we prioritize our life and the things we do, put them in a specific order, what ever order your life requires...which is different for everyone, then it may not seem so overwhelming. And if it IS overwhelming then organizing the "chaos" will make it seem less overwhelming and more manageable. Find a pattern that will help you navigate your way. Put your ducks in a row and keep plugging away.
Fifth - Have a direction or something/someone to direct you (the completed picture of the puzzle). Just as I had the puzzle box to help me, we were not sent to this earth alone to simply figure things out by ourselves. We have the Savior. We have His written word (the scriptures). We have prophets and apostles (living and dead) that have given us guidance and counsel. We have local leaders that can help us figure things out. WE ARE NOT ALONE. Even our parents can give us direction.
And, finally, as I was nearing completion of this puzzle I noticed that it looked good even without the last few pieces of His eye....but how much better and more calming it looked when the Lord was complete. That stands true in life. When we have the Lord COMPLETELY in our lives, no matter what challenges, trials, or difficulties we may face, we can know that we are NEVER ALONE.May the pieces of your life's puzzle come together nicely and may we all help each other along the way. And most importantly, may we always remember and never forget that we are NEVER ALONE.
Much love,
Debbie
