Jigsaw Puzzles and Lent

As each year passes I realize that I am becoming one of the “older adults”. I often find myself reflecting on my childhood and remembering the highlights that shaped me into who I am.

Growing up in the Como area of St. Paul we were the typical blue collar family. Dad went off to work each day and mom supervised the cooking, cleaning and caring of three growing kids. We attended school at McClellan Elementary which was just a block away from home.

Church was at North Emanuel Lutheran which was less than two miles away. We were very fortunate to have our grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins live directly across from that church so we saw them often. That was my circle of life; family, school, relatives and church.

My mom and her family were always working on a jigsaw puzzle. It never seemed to matter how long it took, how many pieces there were, or that we would have to cover the puzzle with a cloth to use the table for dinner. What mattered most was that everyone was allowed to help solve the puzzle and that you had to be very careful to never loose a puzzle piece as you would not be able to see the complete picture.

We would work on puzzles at home, at grandma's, and even at the cabin, which was always the most fun because all the relatives were there in hopes of putting the last piece in place and seeing the complete picture.

During this time of year, most Christians are working on a puzzle called Lent. It’s a puzzle that will take at least 40 days to solve and many hours of work to complete. Many of us give something up for Lent as a sign of repentance. We attend an extra worship service on Wednesdays and even pay more attention to prayer, devotions or journaling.

Lent really is a multi piece puzzle of what happened in Jesus time that lead up to His crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

In order to solve this puzzle, to get the complete picture you have to be diligent to not miss a piece. Every day, every service, every sermon, devotion, and Bible reading gives you pieces of the puzzle. These pieces all need to be put into place, so that the final piece of the puzzle, “Easter” is positioned and completes the picture.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not parish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

The March edition of the Kings Messenger is now available on our website. Look for pieces of the Lenten puzzle throughout this publication. Enjoy the discovery of each piece and rejoice in the message of Easter. “Alleluia. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia.”