The sealed box was difficult to open, so I cut into it with a sharp knife. Once opened, I emptied out the 500 pieces and began to separate out what would form the boarder. As I assembled the frame of the puzzle, I began talking to the Lord. I shared my thoughts on the puzzle and thanked Him for this piece and that piece. I was having a good time fellowshipping with the Lord, and the puzzle was coming together smoothly. But then, I had a separate thought. Why am I talking to the Lord about puzzle pieces?
Excusing my puzzle chit-chat as an unnecessary prayer, I quieted my mind and continued on with the puzzle. However, as I pieced together the remaining frame pieces I realized something very odd. There were two pieces that seemed to be missing. Mind you, this was a brand new puzzle, straight out of the unopened box.
For the next half-hour, my pursuit of puzzle pieces shifted to an all-out search and rescue mission. I sorted through all the pieces on the table numerous times. I doubled checked what I had already connected, making sure something wasn’t misconnected. I checked the chairs beneath the table. I crawled around on the floor scanning the carpet surface and spreading my hands out, hoping to find those pieces. I even extended my hunt to other rooms throughout the house just in case the pieces had mysteriously stuck to my cat’s foot and been carried off to a strange new location. There were no pieces to be found.
For me, the boarder of the puzzle is like putting in the foundation of a house. It must be completed first, as it is the framework for the adjoining pieces. It was hard for me to move on without it, and so I continued on in a state of frustration and wonder… how could there be missing puzzle pieces when it was an unopened box? But, an even bigger question I was grappling with was, does God care about even the tiniest of details in life?
If we feel there are certain things in our life that are not worthy of mention to the Lord, we will only cheat ourselves in the end. Deuteronomy 10:12 tells us, “…what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.” This would be impossible if we purposely hold back sharing certain areas of our lives with the Lord. Besides that, the Bible tells us that there is no hidden thing from the Lord. He already knows our innermost secrets! Psalm 139:3-6 tells us, “You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do. Lord, even before I say a word, you already know it. You are all around me- in front and in back- and have put your hand on me.”
Our life is a beautiful picture, like that of a puzzle. We can try to figure out how the pieces of our life fit together on our own, or we can seek the Lord’s wisdom for our life, through a relationship with Him. Proverbs 3:13 tells us, “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.” Either way, the puzzle will be built. However, if we walk closely with Jesus He will make sure all the pieces in our life come together as they should. “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
As the boarder was the framework for the puzzle, so Christ is to be the foundation of our life. Without this foundation and relationship with the Lord, our life will be lacking and incomplete. Just as the puzzle had a hole, so too will our lives. God designed people to commune with Him. If we are not walking and talking with our Savior on a daily basis, we will really be missing out.
God used this visual illustration of the missing puzzle pieces to show me just how important it is for us to be continually communing with the Lord, no matter what we are doing. God does care about even the smallest details of our life. In Matthew 10:30 we are told, “And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.” What amazing detail! Nothing is too minuscule to share with the Lord. The more open our communication with Jesus throughout the day, the better off we are. Micah 6:8 tells us we are to, “… walk humbly in the company of your God.” He wants us walking and talking with Him throughout our days. He desires that sweet continual fellowship with us in everything we do.
The puzzle, once completed, was of a stunning scene. It had a sparkling lake dotted with boats of varying primary colors, a pier with brightly painted houses, and a backdrop of majestic purple snow topped mountains. It was more than inviting, with the exception of the top left corner. In the place of the frame, was my old hardwood table. Those puzzle pieces…They never did turn up!
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Glimpses and Glory 
I have experienced several times when I could not find something, and a moment in prayer allowed God to reveal it to me. He does listen and care, Well done.
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Yes!!! The Lord does that. He is Amazing! I have also experienced that… but, not the time with the puzzle. Instead, He used the missing puzzle piece to remind me to always stay in communication with Him, even when it seems to be perhaps, non-essential. The Lord loves our fellowship! 1 John 1:3 “…and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and his son Jesus Christ.”
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Thank you so much for sharing your recent blog post with me; it was really encouraging! God truly does care about the little things, and it is truly amazing how He reveals the truths of His word to us in some of the most unexpected ways! One day a few years back I was upstairs in my room, just knitting and talking to the Lord. As I sat there moving the white yarn around my blue, metal knitting needles, I began to notice the intricacies of the pattern the stitches of yarn made, and to think about the amount of time that goes into the knitting process. As I pondered these things, the Lord began to reveal to me how, in the same way knitting takes time, thought, care, and concern to produce the desired garment, God takes time, thought, care, and shows love and concern in His creation process, as illustrated in Psalm 139:13-18! The Lord ‘knits us’ together and covers us in our mother’s womb, and He has a plan for our lives before the foundation of the world ( Jeremiah 1:5 & 29:11; Romans 8:28-30)! Looking closely at the knit swatch, I also began to notice pieces of lint and other yarn particles (that must have come from my knitting bag or the carpet), clinging to the yarn. I began to pull off all the pieces I could see (which wasn’t as difficult because the white yarn used made the particles simpler to spot), and as I did, God began to show me about salvation and the cleansing power of His Blood. When we don’t know the Lord and are living in sin and darkness, hurts, wounds, transgressions, and all spiritual and emotional struggles are next to impossible to take hold of, deal with, and overcome. However, once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and choose to follow Him, His precious Blood washes us white as snow, removing our sins far away from us, giving us new life in Him, and bringing such peace, love, and joy into our hearts. Though there may be difficulties that we experience, and emotional and spiritual heartaches we have to face, the light the Lord brings into our lives illuminates these ‘lint’ pieces, allowing God to ‘remove’ them in a much easier way. God is SO GOOD and He is FAITHFUL to complete the work that He has begun in each one of us (Philippians 1:6)!!! Realizing that the Almighty Creator of the universe loves us so much that 1) He created us for a specific purpose, 2) saved us through His Son Jesus, 3) and promises to never leave us nor forsake us, and to prepare us for His kingdom (Joshua 1:5;Hebrews 13:5; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:24) is humbling and truly amazing! I am so grateful to God for all that He is, all that He has done/is doing, and I look forward to all that He has in store in the future!
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Thank you Ashlee for presenting the gospel message in such an amazing way! I love how the Lord speaks to our hearts when we are quiet before Him. Psalm 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know that I am God.” How important it is to spend time communing quietly with our Creator! Our lives ARE a beautiful tapestry being woven together by the Lord and as you said, that takes time… a lifetime! I thank the Lord that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever should believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 God is SO GOOD and Faithful. “For you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 Thank You Jesus!!!🙏🏻🕊🙌🏻
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Beautifully said! I agree. God does care about the details. As I was reading this, it made me think; Jesus, as our good Shepherd, continues to look for the lost, just like you kept looking for that missing piece! He brings His sheep back into the fold, unharmed and protected. He misses us and searches for that one missing piece, or two or three–He never stops; there is a void until we come home, are found, and complete the full picture– a beautiful body of Christ. It’s sad that your puzzle is missing pieces. How sad God must feel for each person lost, hoping for us to call out to Him to be found so then He can rejoice in the completion of His beautiful creation.
“I was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.” –Amazing Grace
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What a lovely allegory! So true! Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:4-7
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Exactly! Ironically, I was searching for that scripture but couldn’t find it. And here you posted it. How awesome.
Also, about those tiny details, we recently took a trip to Anaheim and stayed at a 1 star motel in our budget. God surprised me– our room had a balcony! I love to sit outside among trees to dine with Jesus. We had a lovely table to eat the food we brought. How awesome is that! And, we had opening windows for fresh air! God is so great! I am so loved and grateful. He knows my heart and blessed me in the details.
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The Lord loves to commune with us and romance our soul, with the special things in life that just complete us, warm our heart, and bring us a sense of perfect joy and peace while walking closely with Him. For you, it was the surprise of this room on your vacay and the special touches He had waiting for you! He knows our deepest hearts desire and will make our days special by adding such a touch as a balcony and opening windows to feel His breeze! Thank you for sharing the Lord’s touch on your day.❤️ “God is Faithful from whom you were called into fellowship, with His son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9
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Looking good!
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Thanks! 😊
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