My life is like a jigsaw puzzle. It takes all those little pieces, put together in their own specific order, piece by piece, until I reach the end, when my puzzle will be complete. Unlike most jigsaw puzzles, I did NOT start by putting together those smooth outside edges, filling in the middle as I go. No, I started in the middle, with just one little tiny piece. Some pieces are bright and colorful, others show so clearly the confusion and uncertainties I face....those areas of "grey". Some pieces seem to be slightly damaged, some might even need a little tape on them to hold them together....a Band-Aid, so to speak, and others are as new and fresh as the dawning of each day. Some pieces appear to be rather ugly and are ones I would just as soon NOT put in my puzzle. But what would my Puzzle of Life be without a few ugly, misfit pieces? I will most likely find that parts of my puzzle seem to have pieces missing. I'll find them all eventually, but in the meantime, there seem to be holes waiting to be filled.

Some of the time, I am putting in just one little piece at a time. And at other times, it seems I gather a handful, put them all together and then see where they fit in my puzzle. It doesn't matter how it gets put together.....sometimes those pieces just need to bunch up. The bigger my puzzle grows, it still amazes me to realize that I might put a piece in on one side, only to jump quickly to the complete opposite side for the next few pieces, then back again. Life certainly isn't a straight line, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the puzzle pieces go together in a willy-nilly fashion.

What would life be like if we put together the outside edges first? We would be limited in where we could go. It makes me think of that adage "think outside the box". If we put together the edges first, we won't ever find our way outside of the box. I don't want to contain myself to my own narrow field of vision. No one knows what is ahead.....so how could we possibly know where our outer limits are?

Now I sit and wonder.....what will my puzzle look like when all is said and done? Will it be a nice neat rectangle? Maybe it will be round. It could even be one of the three-dimensional puzzles they make these days. All I know is that my puzzle is forming, as we speak, piece by little piece. And I am excited to see the finished product....or as close to finished as I will be able to see.

Each little piece of my puzzle brings forth an emotion of one sort or another. Some make me smile, others make me laugh, some will make me cry. There are pieces I feel ashamed of, and other make me burst with pride. Some are bright and shiny, others are dark and dreary. Some are wet, some are dry. There are rainbows and sunshine and butterflies, but there are also demons and thunderstorms and damp, dark caves. But why wouldn't my puzzle have all these things and more? This is my life we're talking about here.

I don't know about you, but this is one jigsaw puzzle that I LOVE to put together. And I'm in no rush to get it finished. I do know this, my puzzle is going to be beautiful with all its variety and contrast. And it will be unique....just like me! Now excuse me, while I go put a few more pieces into this puzzle of mine, called Life!