“Our lives are one big puzzle,
We don’t know how many pieces we’ve got.
There are people who fit in quite nicely
And people who try but do not.
We’re constantly adding pieces,
All the memories of things we’ve been through.
We add laughter and tears and adventure,
And the lessons we’ve learned to be true.
Everyone has their own puzzle,
There will be ones where you do not fit.
Don’t you ever dare make your piece smaller,
Just so you can live there a bit.
If you keep cutting off all your edges,
One day you won’t recognize what you see
And you’ll forget the person you once were,
Before the world told you who you should be.
Make the most of each piece in your puzzle,
It’ll be a grand masterpiece when it’s done,
So you won’t have to look back when it’s over,
And realize you’ve left out the sun.”
By Erin Hanson
When I change the last word from sun to Son, meaning Jesus, it gives me more to think about. How about YOU?
My Commentary:
Life really is something like a puzzle. We receive pieces we would gladly choose — family, friendship, laughter, love, achievement. But other pieces arrive that we never wanted — failure, disappointment, illness, loneliness, grief.
And somehow, God works with all of them.
St. Paul tells us, “We know that all things work for good for those who love God.” He does not say that all things are good. Some pieces hurt terribly. But placed in God’s hands, even our broken pieces can become part of something meaningful.
The poem offers another important lesson: never make your piece smaller simply to fit into someone else’s puzzle.
God did not create you to become the person everyone else expects you to be. You were created uniquely, lovingly, and intentionally. Certainly, Jesus calls us to change — but to become more fully the person God created us to be, not less.
Sometimes we spend too much time trying to fit into places where we simply don’t belong. Jesus Himself was rejected because He would not reshape Himself to satisfy others.
So treasure every piece — the laughter and tears, successes and failures, beginnings and endings.
We cannot yet see the completed picture.
Only God can.
And perhaps someday, looking back, we will discover that even the pieces we could never understand had their place in the masterpiece.
Don’t make yourself smaller. Let God put the puzzle together.
HAPPINESS KEEPS YOU SWEET. TRIALS KEEP YOU STRONG. SORROWS KEEP YOU HUMAN. FAILURES KEEP YOU HUMBLE. AND GOD KEEPS YOU GOING!
