by Denny Hook

Last Tuesday I had surgery on my left hand to release the tendon on my ring finger. (it’s called trigger finger) It had been giving me problems for about a year. I’ve had two cortisone injections, which gave some relief, but only lasted for about a month each time. My doctor said surgery is the only option other than doing nothing and living with the pain. The procedure was quite simple and took less time to do than for him to explain what would be done. He said I can’t be lifting anything, and after my two-week checkup I would be permitted to drive. So, I prepared to get all the lifting work done around the house beforehand. I told my company I’d be off work for two weeks. Money would be tight, and we’d have to stretch it out. Everything was cool until the moment the doctor was doing the surgery. The assisting nurse asked me, “What do you do for a living?” I replied, “I’m a truck driver.” The doctor then said it would be four weeks before I could drive a truck. Not that it would have made a difference, it just would’ve been nice to have known that little tidbit of information in advance. Two weeks would be bad enough, but four weeks! Not LOL

My wonderful wife took off work for two days to help me since I had to have my hand in a sling. One thing we enjoy doing is working on puzzles together. We had several that she bought from second hand stores for less than a buck each. Here it is Sunday, and I just finished the fourth puzzle. I remember growing up and putting together puzzles as a family. Now everyone knows the fundamentals of puzzles. First: You turn all the pieces color side up. Second: You sort the colors. Third: You find the edges and put the border together. Once you do all that you just have at it and fight over who gets to see the box with the picture. It’s so frustrating when someone else reaches right in front of you and puts in the piece you’ve been trying to find for the last 15 minutes. Of course, there was something special about being the one to put in the last piece. Being a little mischievous, I would hide one in my pocket and produce it at the end when everyone else was on their hands and knees scouring the floor, and hoping the dog hadn’t chewed it up. The day of reckoning has come back to bite me. Three of these puzzles we’ve done have had one piece missing right in the middle. Somewhere there are three smart-aleck kids walking around with my missing puzzle piece in their pockets. That was only funny when I did it! Or worse yet, whoever took those puzzles to the second-hand store kept out one piece before donating them just for kicks. I have seen puzzles where it will be written on the box, “one piece missing”. Seriously, it’s one thing to find you have one piece missing after spending hours putting one together, but who buys a puzzle knowing there is a piece missing.  Why not just throw it out?

Ironically, life is one big puzzle. You expect that everything will fit perfectly into one beautiful picture when it’s done, but it often doesn’t. We get frustrated or angry trying to make sense of all the pieces. Situations and circumstances happen that cause us pain, heartaches, sadness, disappointments, grief, etc., etc., and we think surely this can’t be a piece of my puzzle. Just like with a puzzle, sometimes you just need to take a break. Once your mind is clear, you can come back to it with a new perspective, and it is amazing how things fit together that you couldn’t see before, and life goes on.

I believe that we all have a missing piece in our life’s puzzle. In fact, we were born that way, but it wasn’t always so. When God created Adam and Eve they were designed to have relationship with Him, and their lives (puzzles) were complete in Him. They were made in the very image of God in human form. Yet, satan in his craftiness deceived them into believing that God was still holding something back from them; that they too could become as God. Because of their disobedience, sin entered the heart of man and fellowship with God was broken, because sinful man cannot stand in the presence of the Most Holy God. So, from that point on we all have a missing piece in our life puzzle; a piece that can only be filled by having a relationship with our creator God. Sadly, many try to fill that missing piece with all kinds of things which can never fill that empty void. The Good News is that God holds the last piece! He doesn’t discard us or count us as worthless like a puzzle with a piece missing. He loves us so much that He sent His son Jesus who died in our place as payment for our sin; something we could never accomplish on our own.  How fitting that Isaiah 9:6 refers to the Christ as the “Prince of Peace”. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, and the only one who can fit and fill the empty piece in your life puzzle. We no longer must scrounge around on the floor looking for the piece (peace) that only He can give us. Indeed, Jesus Christ himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14) which He purchased by His blood shed on the cross (Colossians 1:20) therefore we are complete in Him. (Colossians 2:10) Here is the simplicity of the Gospel so many complicate and miss; that is if you desire to have that missing piece God holds in His hand, you only need to ask Him for it. It is freely given to those who invite Jesus Christ to be their Savior. Friend, may today be the day you discover and receive “The Missing Peace” in your life’s puzzle.