Missing Pieces

Cindy loves puzzles. They bring her great joy. Our family loves giving her puzzles. It brings us great joy. It's a match made in heaven. The boys have discovered a company that makes exquisite wooden puzzles. The shapes of the puzzle pieces mimic the picture of the puzzle. For instance, find the frog, a dragonfly, and a butterfly hiding in the elephant. The other interesting challenge is that the outside of the puzzle is not flat and straight, but is the outline of the bigger image. There is no easy way to separate the edge pieces. These are difficult puzzles.

We have no idea how the puzzles are made. The intricacy of the pieces and the exactness of their fit are a marvel of skill and engineering. It is impossible to force them together, they often have to be cajoled into connection.

This Christmas the puzzle was a regal elephant adorned with jewels, paint, and animals. It had beautiful colors and exotic shapes. As we opened the box the aroma of freshly cut wood wafted into our consciousness. The puzzle smelled like the forest, a mixture of earth and bark. We carefully turned each piece upwards and tried to make sense of the chaos. A few areas of unique color allowed some early success, but then we hit a wall. This was going to be very hard.

About that time, we were leaving to go to Turkey, so the project was put on hold. Upon returning home some days later, the dogs suddenly turned their attention to the puzzle. They had ignored it while we were gone, but our presence triggered some response in them. Cindy caught Shadow with her paws on the edge of the puzzle table and her nose too close to the pieces. Cindy realized the dog had something in her mouth a little too late. Shadow's eyes gleamed and then she swallowed. When we finally put our last pieces into the puzzle, two enormous gapping wounds were revealed. It was so disappointing, but not entirely surprising.

I spent a couple of weeks handmaking replacements. I cut, carved, and sanded some craft wood. I made several failures. It was so hard getting the pieces to fit the tight curves of the shapes. Eventually, I created two pieces that fit (one appears in the insert above). I colored them to match as best I could. They are poor substitutes but feel so much better than the empty holes.

The Bible teaches us, “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph 2:10). That means that if we do not do our part, the replacement might be adequate, it might be loving, it might be the second best, but it will not be what God intends. God designed you on purpose, for a purpose. God's desire is for you to be part of His beautiful picture.