MORE LESSONS FROM MY JIGSAWS

It was my beloved Joel who taught me to enjoy jig-saws, and now, even though I no longer have my husband to tackle the harder parts, I usually have a jig-saw on the go. I find them therapeutic, and  often  find God speaks to me through them.

Primarily God reminds me that there is always a big picture. Life is not meaningless, even though it can seem full of incidents that may seem to be all wrong. Now we see the assorted pieces that make up the glorious picture God is making out of the jumble of our lives.

Usually we set out to get the border complete, and yet sometimes, though we can’t get the border right, we do not doubt that there is a complete border; and even so we must trust that God is working all things together for good.

At present I am struggling to complete a jigsaw I have been given, even though I know that all the pieces are there to make this lovely picture.

First of all, the jigsaw was too long to fit onto my board. Not deterred, I completed the first third, then carefully placed those pieces into a bag. Now I was away, with room for the rest of the charming picture of the little houses in their Christmas decking. I was near to completion, but with the tangle of branches and sunset sky, I had struggled for an hour without getting one piece to fit. There was no pleasure in this. Time to call it a day, and pack it up?

But after sleeping on it, I knew I must try again. But first of all, I needed to admit that something was wrong, and try to find the culprit, for I must surely have pushed one piece in the wrong place. Yes, there it was. How had I not noticed that the picture, though of the right colour, did not quite match?

I had to pull out several pieces before eventually I was able to proceed happily. And I hope I will  learn the spiritual lesson the jigsaw is teaching me, and that is, that if we are not making progress, then there is a hindrance, and we need to ask God to show us what it is.

Many years ago I read of these Christian women, living in community, whose outreach was through printing evangelical literature. But sometimes the technology was not working as it should. Then they knew they needed to come together to sort out what was wrong; no, not with the technology, but in their fellowship with each other. Once at one with each other, the work flowed.

And I have been learning, over the years, that when I am frustrated, often through the computer not behaving according to plan, it is then that I need to take time out to check on my relationship with the Lord, and most especially with those near and dear. So I am thanking God that he has been reminding me of this through this special jigsaw.

I trust I will place each piece more carefully in future, and remember that I too must be in the right place; right with God and with others. And when we may feel we are stuck in a rut, or have even fallen into a pit, we have only to cry to God for help and we will soon know God has set us on the right path, where we have a spring in our step and his new song in our mouth.