Growing up, I spent many of my Sunday afternoons working on puzzles. We journeyed up I-29 to my grandparents' house in St. Joseph, and while the Chicago Bears most likely were losing on TV, we helped odd shaped pieces find their home: a small portion of a much bigger picture. We spent hours doing this, mindlessly turning pieces side to side, often trying to shove them into a space that was a touch too small or shaped just a bit differently than the prized missing piece should be. And of course we always began with the end in mind, framing out the edge pieces and watching the outer borders of the picture taking shape, checking the box for guidance as we dreamed of having all thousand pieces set in their proper place.
There was nothing worse than getting near the end and hunting for missing pieces: those that would inevitably find their way down under the table, nestled in the teal carpet and impossible to find as we blindly ran our hands back and forth. The frustration grew as we checked the dog's mouth, the hands of my baby brother, and the pockets of our hoodies and jeans. And yet, we would persist, not willing to give up all of our hard work, not willing to call it quits with only a few pieces remaining. And then, with a shout and even more joy than if we'd never have lost it in the first place: someone would find it. With a final pop into place, the puzzle would be complete.
But now, like so many others in different seasons of life, we're on a new journey, completing our own "puzzle" of sorts, this time without the box as a guide. We think we have an idea of how it all could turn out, a glimpse of the big picture. And yet we have so so many pieces that are still missing- yet to be found. So we're starting with our edge pieces, forming our borders, finding one little piece at a time and celebrating each step as though it's a mile. Every time that we tell another person our story and they want to be a part: another piece found. Every time we step out in faith, putting our money where our dreams are, spending every second of our spare time working to make this dream a reality: an edge piece found. Every time we speak our dreams and pray over them: one more piece. And another. And then we wait.
We keep sorting through the pieces, keep waiting, keep turning and trusting that the right piece will fall into the right place at the right time. That the people who need to be a part of this story with us are just waiting, there on the floor, for a sweep of our hands to finally find them. And then, one day, the puzzle will be complete.
But for now, we're dreaming and trusting, hoping and working, putting one edge piece at a time into place. And we can't wait to see all the other pieces that will show up in the days, months, and years to come. Because we know, in the end, this puzzle will be more beautiful than we could have ever imagined!
Be on the look out this summer for the first few parts of our story to unfold on the blog! We're so excited to share more with you soon, and we hope many of you will want to be a piece of this puzzle with us too!
Currently,
Kelsie
I love the analogy of a puzzle! Goodluck on your new adventure, sending you lots of love and positive vibes!
ReplyDeleteKileen
cute & little
Excited to see your puzzle come together and unfold :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful post! What a unique and intriguing way to think about life. You're completely right: things hardly ever turn out the way we think they will! It's what keeps life interesting, I say.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great post! Love how you compared life to a puzzle-great way of looking at it.
ReplyDeleteLove the way you look at this, Kelsie! Looking forward to reading more about it all.
ReplyDelete