One Piece at a Time

This winter I’ve done a lot of puzzles.
Enough to realize that somewhere between the edge pieces, the pieces that look like they fit but don’t, and the occasional piece missing under the table, I started realizing something.

Life is a lot like a puzzle. 🧩

Sometimes the pieces fit easily.
Sometimes you really have to search for where they might go.

Some puzzles come together quickly.
Others take patience… and maybe walking away from the table once or twice.

There are fun ones, challenging ones, and easy ones.
But as I was reminded the other day — patience is key, and not every piece will fit where you want it to.

So stop rushing and allow those pieces to fall where they’re meant to.

Some puzzles you might get a quarter of the way through and realize they’re just too difficult right now… so you put the pieces back in the box and place the box on the shelf for another time. Another season. (I am totally guilty of this. 😅 )

Some puzzles you find yourself completely immersed in the story they’re telling.
Others are worth gluing together and holding onto for a little bit longer.

And honestly, life can be like that too.

Sometimes things feel too heavy. Too confusing. Too much.
And it’s okay to set some pieces aside.
It’s okay to come back to them later when you’re more ready.

Maybe a few puzzles even got mixed together, and now you’re trying to make sense of pieces that were never meant to fit in the same place.
You can’t complete the puzzle with the wrong pieces.

In life, we do that too.

We hold onto things that don’t belong.
We question pieces that were never ours to carry.
We try to force things into place just because we want the picture to make sense.

But the more you “puzzle” through life, the more you start to notice the difference.

You begin to recognize the pieces that need to be tossed.
The ones that need to be set aside for now.
And the ones that finally click and make you say, “YES!”

Sometimes a piece might even fall to the floor… and before you know it, the dog has it and starts chewing on it. 🐾
And maybe that’s your sign — that piece, and that puzzle… it wasn’t meant to stay anyway.

Examine each piece. 🔍

Why doesn’t it fit?
Where does it belong?

And maybe, just maybe, not every piece is meant for this part of the picture.

Celebrate the pieces that click into place.
Pay attention to those moments.

Because the more you do, the more you’ll start to see that it really is all coming together.

And sometimes the piece you’ve been searching for isn’t missing at all — it’s just been stuck to your sleeve the whole time.

So, the next time you find yourself puzzled… 🤔 take a breath, step back, and trust that the pieces will come together.

One piece at a time.

(And honestly, it’s even better when you have a partner who enjoys doing the puzzle with you. ❤️)

-You got this!