Creating Order out of Chaos

Do you like to do puzzles? Lately I have been working on jigsaw puzzles. I find it to be a very relaxing pastime and it reminds me of when my mother used to have puzzles in her house.  She would sit and do the puzzles with her grandchildren. The dining room table, which was only ever used on holidays, was frequently filled with puzzles.

The other day my daughter and her best friend sat down and began to work on my latest puzzle – it is a 4,000-piece puzzle of a world map. I had been working on the puzzle a little but here and there, but I had not made any significant progress.  The three of us began to work together and when my husband got home he couldn’t resist joining us.  Telling jokes and making connections with each other as we connected the puzzle pieces, we managed to get the entire outline finished.  The puzzle is huge and it will likely take several months to finish. 

There is something so satisfying when two pieces fit perfectly together.  I think that’s what makes puzzles so special.  Lately there has been a lot going on in my life, and I can get pretty stressed out, so sitting in front of my puzzle, finding the one perfect piece that fits with another, it feels satisfying. I find myself spending time working on the puzzle when I need to de-stress.  

Puzzles arrive as a big pile of random pieces, but with time and persistence, those pieces all begin to fit together beautifully to create something special. I think puzzles can be a good lesson for life, everything may seem chaotic, but with time and persistence, everything will come together and you will be able to look at what you have created and feel really good about it.