Life's a Puzzle

My daughter gave me a puzzle for Christmas, and I recently put it together over a 3-day period.  I can honestly say that it was one of the most difficult puzzles I've ever done, and I've done quite a few in my lifetime!  Usually, the puzzle is cut in straight rows with the pieces interlocking.  Most of the time, those puzzles have several cuts that are identical, and the tough part is finding the right piece of many that are cut exactly the same.  However, this puzzle is different.  There are no straight rows and no identical pieces.  Sometimes I thought I was looking for one piece when it turned out to be two pieces, and other times I thought I was looking for two pieces when it was only one that filled the space.  It was a real challenge, but the end product is beautiful.
As I was working on the puzzle, I realized this truth:  life is a puzzle, and only God sees the end result.  While I was doing the puzzle, I looked at the photograph on the box to assist me in finding the right pieces, but God's end photo is hidden from us.  We add pieces to our 'puzzle' with each event, be it blessing or tragedy, and sometimes we think the next piece of our puzzle will look a certain way only to have it end up looking entirely different than what we imagined.  Sometimes we can't find the piece for which we're looking only to realize that it was right in front of us all the time!  Other times, it takes months, if not years, to find an important piece, and we rejoice when we add it to our puzzle. 
I know my puzzle is much bigger than many of my readers' puzzles, but I believe I still have a lot of pieces to add before it's complete and I go home to be with God.  I'm looking forward to adding the piece of a new grandson in the spring, and then there'll be all the memories that are created this year.  There are pieces that won't be added for years, but God knows how big my puzzle will be, and He knows how big yours will be, too.
I can't see all the pieces God has ordained to be part of my puzzle, but I'll add each piece as I find them and enjoy the beauty that's added to the picture, knowing the Master Artist is at work.