Have You Worked Any 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles Lately?

Every Thanksgiving my wife, Debbie, gets a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle to work on during the holidays. She and her family get a large square board, place it on a card table in her mother's living room, and dump the 1000 pieces right in the middle of it.

Next, they separate all of the border pieces and corners.  Then looking at the picture, they starting putting the outside, straight edge, pieces together and the four corner pieces.

The final step of their organizing is to try an match the different colors and sceneries of the picture. They each have their little piles and then the fun begins. Putting the pieces together may take until New Year's day, but those who work on it, enjoy finding and fitting every piece. It takes all of them and they eventually get it finished.  I think it was last year they finished it, and the last piece was missing and I don't think they ever found it.

One thing about working a puzzle, the piece either fits or it doesn't; No in between, no deception, only a true fit.  And you must have all of the pieces to complete the picture!

I do not do jigsaw puzzles, whether they are 25 pieces or 1000 pieces. I seem to be too impatient. Well, it is just not my favorite thing.

 It seems living in this world is like a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Looking back over my life, the puzzles I have completed were the ones I looked diligently for the right pieces to fit the situation. Those that I failed in completing were the ones, I either lost my confidence, or interest in finishing.

Yes I have failed miserably in trying to put some of my life's puzzles together. I will write about those another time. Those I failed at, I just could not find the right pieces to connect. I know where they were hidden now. I'll tell you about it maybe someday, so it might help you from making the same mistake.

There is one of my life's puzzles I did finish.  This was one I had always pictured in my mind to have. I had seen my parents put theirs together and many of my friends' parents do the same. I saw in them what I wanted and knew I could have the same.

What was my puzzle and what did it look like. Well here goes.  I wanted a beautiful wife, children and grandchildren. We had our picture made at Gulf Shores. The kids had it made into a puzzle.

 

 

This is my family. All of the pieces fit together beautifully.  But I did not work this puzzle alone.  This puzzle is was started when Debbie and I were born.  We have parents that are still married after 67 years. The picture in our minds was to have a family like we came from.

I met Debbie on a blind date. Coincidence? I don't think so. We married two years later. In 1978 Beth Anne was born and 1982 Besti was born. From the day they were born we prayed for each to marry a faithful Christian man, raised by Christian parents.

Debbie and I both had a vision of what our family picture puzzle should look like.  We began the day we married finding the outside pieces. The outside and corner pieces were from God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Our future family would be pieced together within these boundaries.

Pieces from the world did not and would not fit together with these outside and corner pieces. They would not form the picture we had in our heart and mind of the way we wanted our little family to look.

But, Debbie and I did not put our family puzzle together by ourselves. The same time we were praying for our daughters, there were two little boys, a far off, with parents praying the same prayer. Those little boys also had the examples lived before them each day by their parents and grandparents, who also have been married many years.

Betsi, our youngest daughter, was the first to get married in May 2004. She married Jonathan Pettus, from Leoma, Tennessee. His parents contributed and helped in fitting their section of the puzzle. These wonderful people are Danny and Rose Pettus. There is no way we could have picked better in-laws for Betsi than these two. They also are wonderful grandparents and examples to Xander and Connor.

Beth Anne, our oldest, got married in August of 2004. Yes I know, two weddings in the same summer. Many helped us pull this together and aunt Janie Gill saved us a boatload of money getting and doing the flowers.  Beth Anne married Jarred Clayton from Dunlap, Tennessee. Jarred also has wonderful parents, Freddie and Tammy Clayton who wanted the same family for him that they have. Again, perfect in-laws for Beth Anne and grandparents for Anna Jewell and Grady. Freddie and Tammy Clayton, again I could not picked anyone any better.

Also Danny performed Jonathan's and Betsi's wedding ceremony and Freddie performed Jarred's and Beth Anne's. All I did was give them away and that was an easy task, because these were good young men from great families.

Debbie and I did not get our daughters to this point alone. Our daughters were taught by some of the best educators and coaches in the state.  They each had a section of puzzle to help us fit together.  They put pieces together we couldn't find. Our daughters, like many who have come out of the Union City School System, excelled in tennis, band, and academically. They were taught to pursue excellence by these caring people. Did they prepare them  for college? You better believe they did.

Both daughters went to Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee. Not only did they get higher education at FHU they were taught Bible from some of the best in the country. The friendships they have made from attending FHU are priceless.

You will notice in the picture above several pieces. Debbie and I kept the pieces in Christ, the boundaries and corners, and numerous others helped in supplying the much needed piece for their expertise.  We could not have done it alone.

We cannot leave out our church families. They have been with us and loved us in the good times and tough times. Also both sides of our families have been so supportive.

Again, notice the many pieces of this puzzle. Some were of unconditional love, forgiveness, encouragement, several were prayers, all were based on truth. Each piece fitting with the one next to it was joined by a perfect fit. No deception or fake pieces in this puzzle. They all had to be true fits to produce a picture as this.

Did Satan try so slip a deceptive piece in? Yes he tried many times, but remember the edges and corners were from God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Satan's pieces would not fit in Debbie's and my picture. Did we have tough trials? Absolutely! We still do. Remember we live in a fallen world. Heaven is our real home. If we picture it and then put the pieces together God has given us, we will be there someday in a picture perfect puzzle.

You may think you cannot have a family picture puzzle as ours? Well the good news is you can. So you are a single mom or dad. Maybe you are addictive to drugs, even in jail for a period of time or divorced or living with someone not your spouse.
Yes you may have made a mess of your life compared to the way God wants you to live.  You are forgetting one thing.

The disciples were greatly amazed, and asked, "Who then can be saved?"  Jesus saw their amazement, and replied, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt. 19:25-26,TEG, Hugo McCord)  Did you get what He said. Your messed up life may be impossible for you and mankind to straighten out, but all things are possible with God.

You still don't think you can make a better life for you and your family? Read this!
And we know all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28, NKJV)  That doesn't mean that my wife's Parkinson's disease is working for her good. That means God has a plan and a purpose for everyone of us. And the things in His plans and His words are working together to make us more like Him and His Son, so one day when we put the last piece of our entire life's puzzle in, it will be the piece that says,  faithful unto death. The good he is talking about is our salvation and being with Him in heaven away from this sin sick, and fallen world.

Has Satan convinced you that you are too sinful and God doesn't love you anymore. Read this! I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height not depth nor anything else in creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.(Romans 8:38,NKJV) God still loves you, messed up life and all.

Still think you cannot, with God's help, clean up your life's mess? You are right in thinking that sin has messed your life up and probably the lives of people you love because of it.  Well your not the first nor will you be the last. Again read this: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Now look at this carefully. And such were some of you.  But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (Romans 6:9-11, NKJV) 
Sounds like some messed up lives, but notice some let God help them clean up their mess. And such were some of them. But they are not anymore.

Please read today Psalms 103 with an emphasis on verses 11 and 12.

If your life's puzzle is all messed up and you have lost pieces or just given up, don't! My family puzzle above was not worked by me alone. Many helped me and I am grateful for all of the help. So grateful I want to help you to put together your family puzzle. How do you want it to look?

Yes I know your family is probably fragmented by now in every direction. You may not personally get the same family picture as I have, but you can start right now and make sure your second and especially third generations can have the same family puzzle as I have.

Remember this quote by Maria Robinson-Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. What if you started today letting God be the straight edges and the corners of your puzzle and God's word give you the pieces to fit together the future families of your grandchildren. The circle of messed up families can end with you and that new family life's 1000 piece puzzle can begin with you, God and God's family.

How about it. I couldn't do it alone and you can't either. You have everything to gain to let me or someone help you and have heaven to lose if you don't. But you are not the only one that will lose heaven.  Your children and grandchildren may be following the same path you are on now. The big question for you is, do you want them to?

I am willing and wanting to help. You may email me at rhepler52@yahoo.com or rhepler52@gmail.com . Please share this with others. How do you want the rest of your life's puzzle to look? And no it doesn't cost anything but your time. I do it for free because that is what I enjoy doing.

Thanks for reading. Please share on Facebook or email this link : www.rick-hepler.blogspot.com to your friends and love ones.

Thanks again.

Rick Hepler