I recently stumbled across a passage in a book review in which the author (Alfred Garroto) said the following: 

"At the outset of life, God unites body and soul and sends us into the world. As a parting gift, the Creator presents us with an unassembled jigsaw puzzle representing the true and unique self God created us to be. Our mission is to search for and find all the scattered pieces, and assemble as much of the puzzle as we can. By the end of our lives, we hope to have discovered the greater picture of who we are in God’s sight... Most of us, I would guess, do not arrive at the hour of death completely assembled. It remains for God to “finish us” on the other side."

I love this idea of God "finishing us" on the other side. Not only does it give me hope for the future, it makes me feel a little better about what I'm trying to handle down here today! As a somewhat over-achieving type, I often feel as if what I am doing is never good enough. I'm always thinking there's something more I should be doing, some gap I need to fill. 

So it brings me a measure of peace and hope to think that, hey, it's okay. This is in God's hands. Not only did He make all the puzzle pieces, He's going to assemble them too, and it's all according to plan. And if you're not able to find the right piece for your picture, don't worry. He's going to take care of that too. That unfinished part may be left there for some perfectly good reason, waiting for some chance encounter or event, something to be filled in only when the time is right. It's okay for me to wait, to abide a while at the table. 

I love doing jigsaw puzzles and I am including a picture here of one I hope to do over the Christmas holiday with my family. Thank you, Lord, for supplying the box, the picture, and all the pieces, wherever they might be.