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I have just put in the last piece in my 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. It took me several weeks to finish it as I was not working on it full time. Of course, I still had to attend to my task as the coordinator of Pro-life and a member of my Good Shepherd Religious Community. So I would steal a few minutes each day to put in a piece or two until I finally put in the 500th piece.
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Putting in that last piece left me with a superb feeling of success! You might think me crazy to be so elated with just a simple puzzle. Hey, it was not simple at all! It was the picture of mountains, fields, plants in bloom, and a garden of fence. And you know what? The color of the sky was like the pond, the field was as green as the garden grass, and often I couldn’t figure where this rose or that sunflower would go as they were all over the place. What seemed like a fun activity when I started ended with a few lesson of course was patience. I thought I could finish it overnight – well it took many, many nights and days of figuring out, trying a piece to fit in here or over there, looking and staring at the pieces one by one, or standing back to see the over-all picture and try again.
Thank God the photo of the finished product is printed in the box. I know what I am supposed to be constructing. I would never have attempted to work on it if all the pieces were just dumped on my table and I was told to put them together without the photo to guide me
I had a few reflections on living life as I was doing the jigsaw. Going back to the photo on the box, don’t we all need an image to inspire us and guide us as we gather the pieces of our life together in order to find order and meaning? There is not a day that memories of my family, primarily my mother and father, pop up because they were the ones who taught me about God, about what is good and bad, about the importance of respect for others, diligence, honesty, compassion, and true joy. When I get struck in my own world of selfishness and frustrations, someone comes around to be that missing piece, reminding me of the bigger picture in life.
My big brother gave me this tip when we used to work on jigsaw puzzles as children: always begin collecting the pieces for the edges or the boarders, as they are the easiest to put together. That sets the boundaries. Yes, in the chaos of the 500 pieces dumped on top of the table, finding the flat edged pieces and attaching them according to their colors was the easiest to do. Unless we set boundaries to the hundred and one destructions in life, we will never know where to begin. Defining one’s vision, mission, and goals is vital. Aha! Even the reflection I garnered while doing the puzzle. So it really was not a waste of time, agree?
Sometimes I confidently attach a wrong piece to the puzzle. Then, no matter how many other pieces I try to fit in, not one will go in. It takes a while for me to realize my mistake. And after I reluctantly remove it, four or five pieces slide in so easily. It is embarrassing to admit one’s mistake. It seems such a waste to have to retrace one’s step, especially if one is still not dead sure it was a mistake. Maybe it could still be right, right? But the feeling of relief when corrected overcomes the hardheadedness in the long run.
Do you know that there were times when I was sure a piece was missing? Not one would seem to fit the color and shape. I blamed the cat who steals into my room. May he/ she/ it have swallowed a piece? I blamed our cleaning woman. Maybe a piece fell on the floor and she just swept it away? Then suddenly I find the piece! It had been there all along waiting for me to pick it up and try to fit it into the space even if it looked impossible. Wow! Answers to our problems are often right under our noses. Why blame others?!
Tonight, at 9:47 pm, I put in the last piece. Tomorrow, I will organize viewing time for all the nuns to see my masterpiece. Every now and then, they would pop into my office to ask how the puzzle was coming along – all as impatient as I was and maybe skeptical if I will ever finish. A couple have even attempted to take my chair while I was away and put in a few pieces.. They admitted that it was indeed very tempting, since they knew exactly what piece to put in and I seemed to be so blind to it. Those are the same people who give me unsolicited advice turns out as the right solutions!
Tomorrow, I will celebrate. I will enjoy looking at my finished puzzle. Later, maybe after a week or so, I will put it apart and return it to the box and lend it to anyone who cares to work on it. Hopefully, he or she will also learn life’s lessons along the way.
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