The Puzzle Table

I love doing jigsaw puzzles, so I was delighted to discover the puzzle table when I moved into our retirement community. This table, located in a central area of our building, is open to anyone who wants to help work on the puzzle. There … Read more

I love doing jigsaw puzzles, so I was delighted to discover the puzzle table when I moved into our retirement community. This table, located in a central area of our building, is open to anyone who wants to help work on the puzzle. There are around a dozen of us who stop by from time to time to fit in a few pieces.

I've discovered that everyone has their own preferred method and style of working on a jigsaw puzzle — and they each think that theirs is the best way, of course! When I'm working on a puzzle by myself, I like to add an extra challenge by first separating out all of the border pieces, setting them aside, and then adding the border after I've completed the rest of the puzzle. None of my other puzzler friends here would stand for that sort of nonsense, however, so I have to cede many of my rights and preferences for completing a puzzle. Some like to sort pieces by colour, shape, or design, and must be frustrated when others mess up their organizing system. Some like to sit down for an hour or two, monopolizing the time and space. The worst problem, however, is when someone innocently inserts a piece — which seems to fit — in the wrong place, leaving the error for someone else to discover and correct.

Because we tend to work on our community puzzle individually, we don't really know who else is working on it. We have no laws or governing procedures for working on our puzzles, but there are a lot of unspoken understandings. Someone mysteriously gets to choose and spread out the new puzzle, but we should all be willing to turn the pieces right side up and be sure that none have dropped on the floor. No one can give up in disgust and put the puzzle away before it is completed. Caching the last piece so as to be the one to finish the puzzle is not allowed!

Working a puzzle in this way is similar to ways that we work together in Christian community. We each have talents, skills, and preferences that differ from everyone else's, and we must learn how to use them cooperatively for everyone's benefit. My way is not necessarily the only one or the best, and we all need to practice tolerance and extend grace to others. We need to recognize and allow for individual styles and strengths, focusing on working together harmoniously despite our differences in opinion and preference.

Philippians 2:3-4 – Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (NLT)

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, may we show grace and tolerance in our everyday dealings with others, especially those in Your family with whom we need to work in harmony and unity. Amen.