Puzzle

My daughters gave me a new puzzle for Christmas.  I enjoy doing puzzles.  I enjoy logic games.  I like the challenge.  I like finding short cuts and I enjoy the satisfaction of solving the puzzle.  It is essential that I only do these puzzles during holidays.  I tend to keep working on them until they are finished.  All other daily tasks take a back seat to the puzzle.  My family laughs as I gravitate towards the puzzle like I'm magnetically attached to it.  I'm sure many of you don't feel the way I do.

As I've been working on this 2000 piece puzzle I've made a few observations.

The first time I looked through the pieces I saw color.  I saw all the colors of the rainbow and everything in between.  I saw blue sky and blue water and felt a little overwhelmed.  The puzzle has colored buildings that look similar.  I saw orange plants, blue rocks and pink sunset sky. 

The second time I looked through the puzzle I started to see patterns.  I saw how the sky gradually changed from dark purple to light.  I saw the subtle changes between the different houses.

The third time I looked through the puzzle I saw shapes.  I noticed lines and boxes.  I noticed the rocks and the grass.  I noticed the mountain and the different types of trees.

The fourth time through I noticed intricate details.  Some buildings had words, some buildings had clothes hanging on the line, there were people, single trees and power lines reaching for the sky, boat were waiting to be put into the water.

Each time I made my way through the pieces and noticed something new I thought about how this same principle happens in life.  It isn't until we've spent some time with others that we truly begin to see the details that make them who they are.

Any time I've attempted a change in my life, it has taken many passes before the change started to look like something recognizable.  We began the journey of moving out of our old house 3 years ago.  We knew we wanted to downsize so the first thing we did was get rid of things we knew we didn't want to move. Every 6 months, we would get rid of a few more things.  Each spring for 3 years we had a yard sale and were surprised at the amount of unwanted things we were able to sell.  Even after we moved, we still hauled truck loads away.  Downsizing, simplifying, was just like each pass through the puzzle box.  We kept finding something new we hadn't seen before.

Knowing that we can't completely know everything immediately, we need to remember that everything takes time.  Knowing others well takes time, knowing ourselves can take time, changing anything about our lives will take time.  And, just like with the puzzle, when you get overwhelmed, walk away, do something else and come back later so you have fresh eyes and can see clearly again.  Don't get down on yourself for not completing the puzzle right away.  The process can be just as enjoyable as the finished product.