Right now we have several puzzles going in our house. While the reason we have them going is not important, they have prompted some great discussions and lessons to my children. These are lessons that many adults in positions of responsibility can still learn as well.
Are you ready for a challenge?
One important element is that to define the picture of a puzzle it takes not just many pieces, but all the right pieces. When the journey begins, there has to be faith that the right pieces to make the picture desired are present or can be found. There are times we don’t know the direction we are going, but there must be faith that in the end, the pieces we need will be available to us.
Since the placement matters in a puzzle, the pieces alone do not tell us the whole story. Are you one who believes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts? Stacked on top of one another, puzzle pieces may make an impressive tower, but that isn’t the proper placement. The pieces must come together in just the right way to make the picture complete.
The trait of perseverance is one being tested by the current puzzle projects in our house. A complete picture takes work and it is not necessarily easy to achieve the end goal. Even when we know what the end looks like, it still takes work to reach the goal and things may not always go the way we expect or want them to go. Always push forward.
Finally, we need to remember that even when we believe the puzzle is done, there remains work to be done. We can choose to tackle a new puzzle, or deconstruct what we’ve assembled to begin again. It’s important to continuously move forward so that we do not become complacent or think that we have everything figured out. If that happens, that’s when bad things can occur.
So remember to find the right pieces, place them in the right place, don’t give up when things get difficult, and do not be satisfied when the picture is clear if you want to keep growing and improving.
