Parable of the Puzzle

Puzzles have been on my mind lately.  Blogging has been on my mind lately.  It's been a long time since I've blogged, so why not blog about puzzles.  Actually I have a little story to share, and yes, it's about a puzzle.  

When I was dating Dave, he told me about a family relative who would give a jigsaw puzzle to someone with a message written on the back.  Of course, the puzzle would have to be put together to get the message.  One day, Dave showed up at my house with a puzzle for us to put together.  It was soon apparent that there was a message written on the back.  Every time he would come to my home, we would work a little on the puzzle.  It sat on my kitchen table for several months.  Little by little, piece by piece it started to form a picture.  As we got to the last bunch of pieces, there was a sense of excitement in Dave, grabbing and attaching the pieces at a quicker pace.  Of course, he knew what the message on the back was.  He wrote it there for me.  So there it was, the finished puzzle. Yes, there were a few pieces missing, three to be exact.  But aren't there always. 

 Oh, and yes, the message........Dave helped me turn it over and I read it out loud.

Yup, he wrote a scripture reference on the back.  For those of you who know Dave, is that really a surprise? 

He wrote from D&C 58:26-28

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of  their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves.  And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."

So the words "anxiously engaged" did jump out at me...... and yes, a marriage proposal did immediately follow and yes, I said "yes".   So another little fun fact.....that month our ward missionary theme was "Anxiously Engaged" and the Elders had this little sign that ward members held and posted pictures on the ward facebook page showing that they were anxiously engaged in the cause of missionary work.  So here we are a few weeks later, most definitely.......

The really great thing about this story and this puzzle is that when Dave wrote that message on the back of the puzzle, he was not committed to proposing.  It was truly a favorite passage of scripture, one he tries to live his life by and he didn't write it expecting to propose. But isn't it crazy just how things turn out and just how all the pieces fit.  What starts out with one intention can sometimes take a turn and before you know it, some other meaning or direction unfolds.

So here we are, living in Idaho Falls. Last month we moved here from Arizona, and yes it is getting cold here, and no we are not crazy.  At least I don't think we are.  

Life is a puzzle and sometimes it takes a long time for the pieces to form that great picture intended.  Sometimes we don't even know what that picture is going to look like when finished.  We may think we know and we may think we know the meaning of those little messages along the way, but maybe, just maybe more pieces come into play and the picture evolves into something more incredible than we ever imagined.  And what about the patience needed to find all the pieces.  Sometimes I'm just not very patient.  I don't want to wait, I want to see the picture now.

So as I said, here we are in Idaho Falls.  I want all the pieces to fit NOW.  I want to see the whole picture NOW.  But it would seem I'm going to have to wait to see it all unfold.  But one thing I know for sure, we are here for a reason.  We have been lead here by the hand of the Lord and I trust that He sees the finished picture with no missing pieces.  As we work to piece our picture together, He will see to it that all pieces will find their place and our picture will just get more and more incredible as we go.  

Yes, our journey continues.  Our puzzle is still unfolding and isn't it all SO GRAND!

We Are Becoming......

I get ideas and thoughts rolling around in my head from time to time and start to blog, but sometimes don't get very far.  I opened my blog dashboard today to start a post and there were 3 drafts that I previously started, but then left unfinished.  I do have something in mind to share, but after reading the beginnings of these 3 unfinished posts, I thought I would include them.  My goal here is to tie them all together.  Several of my blog posts start out the same, with no idea what I'm going to write and then it just seems to unfold as I type.  I'm counting on that to happen here.  But first, here are the 3 beginnings I mentioned.

Unfinished blog post #1, started July 2015:

I grew up in a perfect world.  Okay, that's not true, but did I get your attention?  A more true statement would be to say that I have a lovely "perfect world" that exists in my mind and in my daydreams.  It's a nice place to visit and I do often.  I've been thinking a lot about that word "perfect" lately.  We put so much emphasis on it, as if our true happiness hangs on the mere word itself.  Our quest for it can be all consuming.  When in reality, at least my reality, I think I set myself up for great disappointment.  Think about it, we strive for something as simple as the perfect vacation.  We plan, we prepare, we make a timeline, we make reservations or other purchases needed to achieve that perfection we have concocted in our minds.  We know how we want it to turn out and what it will take to make it happen.  We want all involved to have that feeling of "perfect happiness" as the vacation unfolds.  Then disaster happens.  It could be as simple as bad weather, something out of our control.  Then our perfect vacation becomes less than perfect and we feel it was not a success.  Okay, that's such a simple example, but no less a good example.

Unfinished blog post #2, started Oct 2016:

I'm reminded of something I used to tell my children a lot.  I guess I still do on occasion.  I would say, "You can't control what other people do or how they treat you, you can only control what you do and  how you react to how others treat you."  Simple wisdom, right?  Wouldn't it be great if we (meaning I) could be the kind of person we (meaning I) are (am) trying to teach our children to be.  

So hold that thought.  I've felt a real need to share something I've been pondering lately. There's a lot of political talk and tension right now to say the least.  So before you shut me out and stop reading, let me reassure you this isn't about politics, but it is about what I'm learning about myself.  

Unfinished blog post #3, started Jan 2017:

I will start out by saying that my heart hurts for those affected by violence and oppression of religious freedom.  I don't claim to be an expert on this subject, but what I am learning and seeing is heartbreaking.  Our own recent election and most recent executive order banning refugees from specific countries, has affected me in a way I would have never thought possible.  You see, I have always been very happy with my head in the sand.  It's a most comfortable position and one that requires very little if any action or even thought on my part.  It's an easy position and I could claim to have no knowledge or resource to help, so why even bother......right??  Well, that is not what my heart is telling me.  People in other parts of the world are suffering in ways that I have never known nor experienced.  I live a comfortable life in a comfortable home in a great land with freedoms that allow me to peacefully worship the way I choose.  This great land offers that same freedom to all, regardless of that choice.....or so I was always taught.  Religious freedom is more than just a constitutional right, it's a fundamental human right.  So why are so many not allowed that same privilege.  Why do so many try to flee their own county to avoid persecution, violence, sexual atrocities, torture, even death.  The Revolutionary War was fought over religious freedom.  Remember, that's why the early pilgrims sailed from England to a land where they could worship in their own way and not be punished by the government for doing so.  That's why it's the 1st amendment in a county where freedoms are protected and cherished.  


So there you have it, my 3 started and unfinished posts.  Life is not perfect, but can it be?  We cannot help everyone, but can we help someone?  And what about our differences and experiences and what can be learn from them? 

A few days ago, my husband said something to me that still rings in my mind.  He said, "We are becoming."  That's it, the whole sentence.  So becoming what, and when, and how, and maybe even more importantly, for what purpose?  It was at the end of one of those days where we were reflecting on the events we had just shared.  We have become acquainted with several refugee families and individuals here from African countries.  They are French speaking for the most part and Dave speaks French so he has become a great friend and help to them.  We have become very aware of some of the struggles that they encounter once here in America.  One thing that we have learned is.... to the outside (meaning outside of America) world, America seems to be a land of wealth and opportunity.  Once here, it becomes apparent that there are still a lot of struggles that they did not imagine.  Perhaps they looked upon life in America like I look upon my "perfect world" that exists in my mind.  No ones fault here, they just are fleeing a much worse scenario and only know what they hear about America.  From what I have seen, these are hard working people who want to survive here on their own.  They are humble in attitude, yet proud in self reliance.  They are willing to work, but are learning the hard way just how far a $10/hour job will go when trying to support a family. This was the end of a day where some of these struggles had come to a head for one family we know.  We could only do so much and we encountered our own disappointment and learning from this experience.  That's when Dave said, "We are becoming."  Our experiences cause us to become something. They contribute to our learning and to our progression in this life. I believe we are continually progressing, whether we like it or not, whether we recognize it or not.  I can tell you what I am becoming.  I am becoming more compassionate.  I am becoming more willing to share my time and my abilities with some less fortunate.  I am becoming more aware of what is going on around me, taking my head out of the sand, that comfortable place of complacency.  And the really big question.....For what purpose am I becoming these things?  I suppose I don't have an answer to that, yet.  I suppose I will find out little by little as time and experiences go by.  I suppose I will continue to become something, hopefully a better person, one with something to share and contribute.  Yes, we are all becoming.  What are you becoming? And why? And how? And for what purpose?