A puzzle—and a much bigger picture

[This is part one in a two-part series in which the author compares lessons learned while doing a puzzle to a “much bigger picture,” i.e., life itself.]

Let me start by saying that compared to many of you, I am not a puzzle aficionado. Especially when it comes to those 1,000 or more “piecers.”

Not only that, but when I choose a puzzle I avoid the ones with an expansive blue sky, or an unending field of snow – or ten evergreens, all of which look identical. If you’ve ever done a puzzle, you know what I mean. Call me a wimp, but I prefer to consider myself a frustration-avoider.

When working on a “lesser” (i.e., 300-piece) puzzle one day, I began to wonder what I could learn from the puzzle-solving process itself – things I could apply to my life.

If you are a puzzle fan, you may disagree with my approach to puzzle-solving, but that’s okay. Maybe my “life lessons” will still help you.

1)     Get organized. Separate out your border pieces and create the entire border first. Divide other pieces into small stacks, by color or subject -- at least that’s how I do it. With many of life’s projects, solid planning proves wise. “The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, but everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 (NASB). Also note, “But all things should be done decently and in order.” Proverbs 24:27 (ESV).

2)     When you first unload the box, if some pieces are already fitted together, pull them apart and mix them in. In other words, don’t cheat. If you do, it will ruin the feeling of accomplishment you want at the end (“I did it! I finished it!”) Proverbs 2:7 tells us “He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.” (NLT)

3)     Study the interesting and probably beautiful picture on the box often. It will remind you of your objective. As the days, weeks, months and years go by, we may lose sight of that. For a Christian, one goal is found in Eph. 4:15b “. . . growing in every way more and more like Christ, Who is the Head of His body, the church.” And in Phil. 3:14, Paul writes “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (NLT).

[Look for part two with tips four-nine in next week’s edition of the Globe.]