I love puzzles. I’ve loved them since I was a kid. I always love the challenge of seeing the picture of the final product, but opening the box to hundreds of pieces that look like they have nothing to do with one another… and the more pieces, the better! Anything under 500 pieces, I wouldn’t even look at. The more the merrier! As I get older, I still love them. I hope I never stop loving them!
Recently, I’ve learned a new perspective that has changed the way I not only see puzzles, but the way I see my life.
Our healing is like a puzzle.
If the light bulb hasn’t gone off on your head yet, stay with me…
When something hurts us, when we go through a painful situation, when we break… we become a puzzle. Our feelings of wholeness and certainty come to a crushing halt when obstacles in life knocks us off our feet and break us into pieces. Sometimes it’s our heart, sometimes it’s our minds, and sometimes it’s physical. But when it happens, you know it…. you feel it… and it hurts.
But you’re still in the game.. the game just looks different than you imagined. Sometimes, a situation breaks us into a few pieces. {I’ll call this a 25 or 50 piece puzzle} The pieces of your life aren’t put together, but they’re big enough that you can easily tell which piece goes where. Healing usually doesn’t take too long in this stage because you know all the pieces and can easily put them in the right spots. You’re good to go in no time, you wipe the seat off your brow, and get back to your normal.
Sometimes, storms in life break us a little more than that. {I’ll call this a 200-500 piece puzzle} When you first take a look at all the pieces, it’s intimidating. How do you know you have all the pieces?? As you begin to put the puzzle together, you find like pieces and group them together. You establish the frame of the puzzle and go in from there. Sometimes a piece looks like it goes in a certain spot, but all it does is deceive you. This puzzle takes time and concentration, but the more you put into it, the more you start to see it coming together.
Last but not least, there are times when we get blindsided by obstacles or circumstances in life. {These are 1,000+ piece puzzles} They’re brutal, merciless, and oh so very frustrating. Challenging is an understatement with these puzzles, but no matter how challenging they may seem, they’re never impossible. Sometimes you look at the outside and think of how easy it will all come together, but when all the pieces are on the table, you realize you may have bitten off more than you can chew. This definitely isn’t a puzzle you can do in one evening and if you don’t have patience, forget it. But, if you are intentional about putting it together and making sure it’s done correctly, over time you’ll find that puzzle come together perfectly!
Our healing is like a puzzle…
When we face an impossible situation, when we get an unexpected diagnosis, when we experience hurt from a loved one or friend, {insert your own painful situation here}, it breaks us into pieces. Sometimes it seems like a bigger challenge than we thought, sometimes it seems like not all of the pieces are there, and sometimes it seems like our healing is taking forever to finally come together. But, just like the most impossible of puzzles has a very real and possible outcome, so does your healing. Trust the process, take the time you need, and don’t rush. There will be moments when two pieces feel like they’re supposed to go together and you can’t figure out why it’s not fitting, but when you take a deep breath and take a closer look, you find that those pieces were never supposed to be together in the first place.
Healing takes time. Sometimes longer than others. Don’t beat yourself up if your healing is taking longer than someone else’s. But also, don’t judge the person who’s healing is taking longer than yours. You never know how many pieces their puzzle of healing contains. It’s not until you sit down with the individual and get to know them that they start to unveil what their puzzle looks like.
Have you ever put together a puzzle with friends? It goes a lot faster than if you just put the puzzle together by yourself. Not only are there more hands to help, but there’s more eyes to see all the pieces and just how each piece fits together. There are times when someone sees how two pieces fit together that you may have originally missed. Different people bring in different perspectives. Most of the time, it’s helpful! Sometimes, people get frustrated and leave… But it’s all part of the process.
No matter what your puzzle looks like, trust that there’s a bigger picture…. AND that you have all the pieces you need. Sometimes, a person will come along and help you figure out where a missing piece goes. Other times, someone will come along and scatter some pieces because they don’t understand. Learn who you can trust with the pieces of your puzzle. Your puzzle is composed of all the broken pieces of your healing. Your healing is possible and it will happen. Maybe it’s just around the corner and maybe it’s years down the road but I promise you, it’s coming.
How do I know? I’m still putting mine together.
Love and blessings,
Lauren K. ❤
Chronically Faithful 