Our Unique Puzzle Pieces
Every puzzle has edge pieces. On a square or rectangular puzzle, the outside edge will be smooth, allowing it to be easily identified as an edge piece. This is the only part of a puzzle that makes sense to me as I look over the sea of pieces.
Each person’s life has many parts and needs. To me they represent the puzzle pieces of our lives. Each person has certain needs in common. We all need food, clothing, shelter, love and acceptance. These remind me of the edge pieces, easily identifiable and the first to be set into place.
Some of us need a few extra things in our lives to help us function – more as we age. I have worn glasses for a number of years but almost two years ago I finally had my hearing tested. I hated asking people to repeat what they said or having a blank look on my face when someone waited for an answer to a question I had not even heard. Hearing aids became a new puzzle piece added to my life. It took a while to get used to them but I do not miss as many things happening around me.
Occasionally, we have short term special needs. I have broken my ankle and needed a cast and crutches. Crutches and I did not get along very well at all and I gratefully set them aside after only a few days when the walking cast supported my ankle and allowed more mobility. A few years later I had to renew my acquaintance with crutches, along with a knee brace to support a broken knee. For six weeks I could not put weight on that right leg. I lived in a town house with many stairs and I needed to learn to accept a lot of help. But, even though I needed those extra sticks to help me move, the duration proved to be short in relation to the rest of my life.
Possibly the times where we end up with special needs, short term requirements to aid in our daily life, we gain an understanding, an empathy for those who live with mobility aids, medications, need of daily help or any other special need, for their entire lives. Does it give us an insight into life that is different than we are used to? Will it help us include those who are not just like us?
Our lives are full of puzzle pieces of different sizes, shapes and colours. Some we have in common with everyone else like the basic needs. Others might be part of our lives for a season or permanently. I can look confusing. It can be frustrating. It can seem hopeless to make sense of the hundreds of pieces spread before you but there is hope. I am grateful that God knows where each piece needs to fit even when I don’t.
What pieces are you trying to figure out how they fit into your life?
Posted: October 2nd, 2017 under puzzle pieces of life, Storytelling.