Thursday, January 8, 2009

Square peg, round hole

I recently observed the completion of my 50th year on earth. Birthdays in general invite introspection -- birthdays that end in zero, even more so.

When I told Kelly that I felt like a square peg in a round hole most of the time, she reminded me that the perfect place for a peg to be was in the hands of the Carpenter.

Several tissues later, I am still grateful she shared that image with me.

It reminds me of solving a jigsaw puzzle.

In a standard puzzle there are pieces that are more easily recognized and easier to place. The straight sides of the edge pieces leave no doubt as to their location, even indicating if they belong on top, bottom, left or right side.

What happens with the remaining pieces? They find their place with pieces that have similar characteristics. There will be false starts, with pieces that look promising, but don't quite fit. After some trial and error, all of the pieces are combined and the whole picture finally comes in to view.

Life is that way; some purposes are easily seen and others are visible only after a lot of trial and error. Unlike online jigsaw puzzles, there is no "Auto Solve" button! And, unlike jigsaw puzzles, the pieces can change shape -- skills are acquired, attitudes change and rough edges are softened.

I'm looking forward to seeing the next picture formed by the puzzle pieces of my life.

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