When puzzling through a problem…don’t settle for close enough <3

I have been working on a jigsaw puzzle off and on for a solid year. Plus some.

Russ purchased a 1000 piece puzzle featuring various photos from the movie Elf for me. John gave me a puzzle board that I can work on and then fold and tuck away to clear the space when needed. 

It is one of those puzzles where the pieces can look like they fit, but on closer inspection there is just a tiny gap of misfit. 

I am down to about a quarter of the puzzle unfinished. The remaining pieces are all white, green or dark brown. Or maybe they are dark green. It’s hard to tell sometimes. 

While the process has been fun and I am driven to complete it, I am getting tired of trying pieces in to various spots. 

I want to be done. 

I want to move on. 

So when it looks like a piece fits okay I am tempted to move along, none the wiser. 

But there is a difference between a genuine fit and a fit that leaves a blank space for the next piece that you know just doesn’t make sense. 

Sometimes seasons of life are puzzling. As I try to fit things together in a way that makes sense, it is tempting to accept something that sort of works. But if I forego diligence in making sure I have found the best solution, I risk ending up with unused opportunities that would have fit so much better.

And holes that simply cannot be filled. 

It is only in perseverance and an unwillingness to settle for just what seems to work that everything eventually falls into proper place.