It’s that time of year again. The first puzzle of the season is under way. Every year, between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, we do puzzles. Some years we get a very large, hard puzzle that takes us pretty much the entire season. Some years we do several smaller puzzles. This year, we are starting with a surprise puzzle.
A day or two before Thanksgiving, a package arrived for us and we have no idea where it came from. In that package was a nice Disney puzzle. I’m guessing it will take a week or so to put this one together. It is a nice gift and we thank whoever it is that sent it to us. It is a great way to start the season.
I enjoy putting puzzles together. I am somewhat addicted to the puzzles and once I get started, it is very hard for me to stop… sometimes until early hours of the morning. There is often two or three of us around the table and at times we will all be around the table, working together. It is a great time and we find ourselves in some good and often amusing discussions.
This year, I decided to cheat. Well, I call it cheating. Most people would think it is normal. This year I decided to look at the picture while I build the puzzle. Most years, my family gets the puzzle out and puts the picture aside so I can’t see it. Not to be mean, but because that’s the way I like it. I like watching the picture come together and guessing what it is going to be. When I’m not home, everyone else gets the picture out and does their part. But this year I decided to use the picture. As you can imagine, it is much easier.
Life is a lot easier when you know what it’s supposed to look like. Having a mentor, setting goals, and following a plan is kind of like having a picture. When you set goals and a plan, and have a mentor who has achieved what you are working towards, you can get a pretty good picture of what your picture will look like. Someone once told me that you can tell where you will be in life in five years by the books you are reading and the people you associate with. That’s a pretty good picture, too.
But not everything in life is like that. I love watching my kids as they grow up. I put those little pieces in place every day. Sometimes it is pretty tough finding the right piece. Sometimes it just comes together naturally. Sometimes I put the wrong piece in and don’t realize it for awhile and can’t figure out why it isn’t coming together. But, in the end, I love watching the picture take shape and trying to guess what the final picture will be. Unfortunately, it will take longer than a couple of weeks to see the final results but, with every new piece, I begin to see a little more of the puzzle.
For now, I just keep building. Trying to mentor, teach, guide, and pray for each of the kids as their own individual picture begin to take shape.
Have you every built a puzzle without looking at the picture? What are some of your holiday family traditions? Comment below and let us hear from you.
