Put It Together

One of the gifts Dennis gave me for Christmas is a one-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle. It was on my Amazon wishlist, because I’ve learned that not all puzzles are created equal, and if I want one that won’t drive me crazy, I need to give potential buyers some direction.

As you can see from the image up there, this particular one is a lovely illustrated image of a mother tenderly holding her sleeping child, and I’ve been enjoying the process of fitting the shaped pieces together, but last night I noticed something I’d missed in the course of assembling dozens of other jigsaws. The basket full of laundry in the lower right corner had been nearly complete for hours, except for a large piece in the center. When I finally fitted it into place, I felt a sense of unexpected peace because that little picture was now whole, and even though the rest of the puzzle was still in pieces, this little bit was enough.

It turns out that life works in the same way.