Image by Mike Sweeney from Pixabay

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. –John 14:1 NIV

My youngest grandson loves to put together jigsaw puzzles. So I keep several age-appropriate puzzles around for when the he comes for some “Grandma time.”

When he was five, his favorite puzzle was a 100-piece pirate ship puzzle, which he could put together without my assistance. But I still helped, assembling the border. The straight-edge pieces are much easier to figure out than the inside. By the time I had the border in place, he’d already completed quite a bit of the inside. It’s a good thing the puzzle makers put a picture on the front of the box. Without it, I’d get too frustrated.

Ever think that life is like a jigsaw puzzle?

Imagine what the young Jewish girl Hadassah, an orphan raised by her uncle, felt when she was taken to be a part of King Xerxes’ harem.

Hadassah’s dreams for a husband and family were dashed. What were her chances of being chosen to the queen of Persia? Uncle Mordecai, who held a high position in the civil service of the empire, advised her not to reveal her family background or nationality. So she had to do things no nice Jewish girl would have done. So much for her reputation.

But she found favor with the head harem keeper, who pampered her more than the other girls, and put her in the best place in the harem. After twelve months of beauty treatments, the time came for Hadassah, who now went by “Esther,” to go to the king.

“Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. He set a royal crown upon her head and made her queen” (Esther 2:17).

But things did not remain settled for Queen Esther. You know the story—how she risked her life to uncover a wicked man’s plot to annihilate the Jews.

Sometimes we focus on the risk and courage aspect of this story—and that the bad guy gets caught in the end—and forget that Hadassah didn’t know how her life story would play out. First she’s orphaned, then taken from her adopted home to be a part of something that would only bring shame to a young Jewish girl. Then, when everything seems hunky-dory, she’s asked to lay it all on the line.

I imagine, like us, she wondered how the pieces of her life would fit together. By itself, each puzzle piece seems to make no sense. But as the pieces are patiently fit into the overall pattern, the picture becomes clearer.

Life’s puzzle, however, doesn’t come with a picture on the box, at least one we can see.

Our Maker, though, does—indeed, He has designed it—and patiently directs us, one piece at a time.

When the pieces of my life don’t seem to fit anywhere, Lord, remind me that each piece has a place in the picture You created just for me. Amen.

Read through the Book of Esther in one sitting.

© 2012, 2019 Michele Huey. All rights reserved.