Jigsaws!

Carrying on from yesterdays thought about perspective I wanted to share with you something that I have been doing whilst in lockdown and that is jigsaw puzzles. I loved jigsaws as a child and in particular jig—maps.  They were shaped like the outline of a map with different buildings and names on oddly shaped pieces. Anyone else remember those?

I still enjoy jigsaws and usually have one on the go around Christmas but lock down gave me the perfect excuse for getting a couple of new ones and swapping some with friends. Jigsaws come in so many different forms these days. You have your traditional rectangle with straight edges on the outside. You have your very quirky ones like the one I did the other day with pieces shaped like cats, pens and even scissors! If you are feeling very bold you can try a 3D one! Then there is the huge variety of sizes and images. But they all have one thing in common. They are all pictures that are made up of small, different pieces. By themselves the pieces often resemble nothing in particular but put them together in the right place and they help to make the whole beautiful image. But how frustrating it can be to discover a missing piece right at the end!

Each person’s life is somewhat like a jigsaw-made up of so many different events, places, people, gifts, emotions. Some things that fit well together and others that do not.  Perhaps because I have been doing more  puzzles recently,  I have been reflecting on the fact that whilst a lot of what we seem to be doing in lockdown may feel like not very much, these days are pieces that can be put together by God to form an integral part of our life picture, our church and community picture and even the bigger world picture.  In his hands nothing is ever wasted or lost. God can and will put the pieces of our lives together and we may well discover that some of what we have done, some of the things we have learned about ourselves and about the world around us is crucial. It may not look like much now but with God at work we can be sure that these pieces…perhaps dim and boring looking to us- can and will be part of a much greater and beautiful image.