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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: PUZZLE (11/24/16)
My friend was very apologetic.

“I didn’t realize they were doing it,” she said. “I know you said they could play with the games in that cupboard, but I didn’t know how many jig saw puzzles were in there.”

I looked in dismay at the mess she was showing me. My friend and the five children she was looking after, two of them her daughters, had been house sitting while we were on holiday. We were grateful to have them, and also glad that we overlapped at both ends so we didn’t miss out on time with them either. But now I had a dilemma.

Most of our puzzles were adult ones with two-to-three thousand pieces and quite difficult pictures. In trying to find the ones they could manage these eleven and twelve year olds had pulled them all out of the cupboard. Inevitably some of the heavy boxes upended, and now several puzzles were all in a merry mess together!

To do them all was beyond these children. We packed them up as best we could, and put them away.

It was about a year later before we got on to them. Some of the larger ones were beyond me, but my husband has patience, and as most had come from his family, he was familiar with them. We found as many large boards as we could and set aside one room for the big sort out. My job at first was to try to identify which jig saw each piece came from. Some were easy, but it was more difficult for the ones with more obscure scenes.

Slowly in our spare time each picture started coming together. Piece by piece the scenes were emerging. It was a great day when the final piece was placed and we were done. We were glad of confirmation that no pieces were missing, each puzzle was whole and complete.

This incident reminds me of my life. Sometimes it seems like a big stuff up, with pieces all over the place and mixed up together. But patiently my heavenly father puts me back together again. He knows what he is doing, he has the finished picture in mind. And he has promised to continue the good work he has started in me until I am finished and complete.
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This article has been read 442 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
12/02/16
Wonderful message in your well written entry,
God bless~
LaVonne Wood
12/03/16
Sounds like fun, I love putting puzzles together. Great message at the end. Make a good devotional. Blessings, LaVonne
Larry Whittington
12/06/16
I liked the message in the story as well as the personal life story. And it is like in your story, it can sometimes take a while to get the pieces sorted out and that is why patience is so necessary in our lives.

Small trials in our lives help us to grow patience.

Nicely written.
Robyn Harbour
12/07/16
we solved this sort of problem by turning the puzzle over when completed by covering with a sheet of cardboard before tipping. we then sprayed the backs a different colour for each one. If an accident happened it made sorting much easier. Great story.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
12/08/16
I enjoyed this charming story. I grimaced when I pictured the mess of the puzzles and empathized with the MC. The conflict was subtle, but it was there and was displayed nicely. I also loved the resolution. I can't imagine having that much patience, so I truly appreciated it.

Your opening could have been a bit stronger. Instead of starting out with a passive line, you could paint more of a picture for the reader. For example: My friend licked her lips while she wrapped her arms around her body and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I'm so sorry."
This gives the reader a mental image of what apologetic looks like by her actions and her words.

I think you did a fantastic job of creating a metaphor for life. I often feel like someone has taken my pieces and shuffled them all together. In fact, you did such a good job of subtly showing the message, I don't think you needed the last paragraph. It's hard to decide what the reader can figure out on her own and when you need to nudge her. Before I read the ending, my mind had already made that delightful connection. You didn't overstate it though, so I think it still works fine, especially for those who might need an extra nudge. I thought the story was a grand life lesson. I enjoyed it thoroughly.