Piece by Piece

 Growing up, I used to love puzzles 😊!! I loved putting together puzzles of different sizes and different scenes. Some evenings, you could find my family and me in our living room working on a puzzle. While doing the puzzle, there would be laughter and conversation 💚. There would also be moments of frustration of not finding the right piece and moments of false hope when we thought we had the right piece, but it was not. I loved the time spent together as we made so many good memories! Seeing the final picture of the puzzle made it even more special. When the pieces are scattered all over the place, it may be difficult to see how it all comes together to form the picture. Sometimes, you may not know where to start putting together the puzzle. Some people look for the corner pieces, while others may just find pieces that look like they go together and go from there. I do more of the latter 😊. Eventually, all of those smaller pieces are going to connect to form a bigger picture. I remember we used to work on puzzles over a number of days, especially if it was a lot of pieces or we took breaks in between. The unfinished product didn't always look pretty. We kept working at it. Piece by piece, the final picture of the puzzle was created, and it was all worth it! Now, I haven't worked on a puzzle in a while, but I may have to start again 😊. If you like reading or watching mysteries, there are also pieces or details that you can put together along the way to solve the mystery. Some connections are easy to make, while others can be more difficult. I'm currently reading a fiction book that has a hint of mystery in it. I'm trying to figure out how two characters in the book connect. I'm trying really hard to connect the pieces and make predictions 😊. We'll see what happens! Just like the puzzle pieces and mysteries lead to a bigger picture, so do the pieces of our lives. Each detail and event that happens in our life is not an accident or mistake. It's all part of a bigger picture. The right connection and encouraging piece of advice is all part of the bigger picture. The hurts, lessons, and blessings are all part of the bigger picture. Every moment, opportunity, experience and day is all part of the bigger picture. The pieces may cause us to have laughter, conversation and new adventures, but there may also be frustrations and setbacks. As we look back over the first six months of the year, we can know that all the pieces (moments) are leading to a bigger picture that we can't fully see yet. We can know that God is with us every step of the way. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Praise God for the first half of the year 💚!! Let's see what the second half of the year brings. Piece by piece, we can know that we will get to where God wants us to be. God bless you all!