Piecing it Together

That's a picture of a puzzle my husband and I started the week after Christmas.  It has 1,000 pieces.  Miraculously, we've managed to keep our one and two-year-olds from messing up the process and losing any pieces (at least, we hope we have!).  We work on it at night when we're not too tired.  Today I had a few moments so I re-engaged the puzzle.  As I did, these thoughts emerged:

• Pieces rarely, if ever, fit where I think they will.
• If I can't find that missing piece, it's normally because I've categorized it into the wrong pile (I pile pieces according to puzzle sections before I begin).
• I always have to take a second look before I find the piece I'm looking for (and normally a third and fourth look).
• The longer I look, the more of the big picture I am able to see.
• It's easy for me to see the path to finishing a puzzle that's not meant for me - a two-year-old, "large piece" puzzle, for example.  It's much harder when I'm dealing with a puzzle that fits into my life stage.  I have to follow where the pieces lead, rather than directing them myself.

I want to be a good puzzle-put-together-er.  (I know, no such word, but you get my meaning.)  When I think about how to craft my life, how to steward the gift of this lifetime He has given me, I want to follow, not lead.  I want to let sight unfold, acting as more of an active, participatory observer than an author.  I want to quit thinking I know how things should fit together and instead let the pieces fall where they will.  The picture is much more beautiful if I let the Puzzle Master have His way.