Aside from a weekend rock-climbing adventure at Seneca Rock that I participated in 18 years ago, I’ve only ever passed through the state on my way to somewhere else. That is until last week. Rod and I spent several days exploring the many trails, waterfalls, seeing amazing vistas and rock formations, and relaxing at a condo that served as our home base. We discovered a treasure-trove of jigsaw puzzles, found one of Oahu, Hawaii, and decided to put together it’s 1,000 pieces.
We worked on it off and on every day, sometimes walking past and randomly fitting another piece into the puzzle, and also devoting an hour or two each evening to it’s completion. Sometime during our last full day there, we realized that we were not going to finish it before we needed to depart.
I did a personal gut-check to reflect on how that felt. I’m the sort of person who can’t leave on vacation until the dishes are done, the wash competed and put away, the plants watered, and the locks check, so leaving something unfinished felt a bit odd. But, to my surprise and amazement, it also felt ok. I guess it was enough, to have had fun working on it, to have enjoyed the time together, to think of the “yes” I’d say when I added another piece to the puzzle.
This season feels somewhat like putting a puzzle together, not sure of how all the pieces fit together, or whether some pieces are missing, or how much time is left.
It seems to be human nature to try to put all the pieces together, to want to know how things will end, and when they will end. That’s the point, after all, of a puzzle or a mystery. It needs to be finished, to be solved.
We live in the midst of mystery that is beyond all human comprehension, what Paul referred to as “holding fast to the mystery of faith.” (1 Timothy 3:14). If we could logically solve all of our questions about life, about God, then we would be God. And just this one time, it felt good to leave one puzzle unsolved.
Blessings in the not-yet-complete ~ Anne
“We are a nation made strong by people like you.” R.I.P – R.B.G.
Wayfinding 