Piece by Piece: The Puzzle of Purpose

Have you ever sat down with a brand-new puzzle, box full of jumbled pieces, edges mixed with middles, sky blending into water, and that one sneaky piece that always seems to vanish until the end? That is what following your life’s purpose with God can feel like.

You start with the edges. They are the easiest to spot because they have clear lines. Just like the beginnings of your journey, your boundaries, your foundation, the things you know you are not. There is a certain relief in that part. The border of your life gets defined not always by clarity but by contrast. You may not know exactly who you are yet, but you begin to know who you are not.

Then you group by color. You notice the bold patches, maybe your love for helping others, your creative spark, your curiosity, or that tug on your heart you have felt since you were a child. Some pieces come together quickly, like finding the cat’s face in a sea of flowers. You think, “Yes, this is it. I’m getting somewhere.” It feels aligned. It feels right.

But then it slows down. You find yourself picking up one piece at a time, turning it in circles, trying to make it fit somewhere, anywhere. You squint, you second-guess, you start to doubt the whole thing.

Maybe this was not your calling.

Maybe you misheard God.

Maybe the pieces are just broken.

This is the part where most people want to give up. Not because they do not care, but because it suddenly gets really hard. It is no longer about what is obvious. It is about faith, patience, and paying attention to the tiny details.

The part of the puzzle that looks like nothing but sky? That is your season of waiting. Of walking by faith, not by sight. Sometimes you chip away at it slowly, piece by piece. Other times it feels like you are going in circles.

And here is the truth most people will not tell you. You do not have to finish the puzzle today. Or ever. There are times when you sense that this particular puzzle, this path you are on, is no longer life-giving. It is draining. You have prayed. You have pushed. You have tried to force the fit. But God whispers, not with guilt or shame but with gentleness, “That is enough for now.”

And it is okay to put the puzzle back in the box. Not because you are giving up, but because you are listening. Because your soul knows when it is time to pause, pivot, or prepare for something else. Not every chapter needs to be finished for you to move forward. Not every lesson needs a perfect bow tied around it.

And one day, when you are ready, you will open a new box. A new challenge. A new version of you. You will start again, edges first. And piece by piece, it will come together.

I will never forget the day I was feeling defeated in my endeavors. Nothing was clicking. I felt stuck and directionless, like I had lost the thread of where I was meant to go. I looked over at a half-finished puzzle I had started weeks earlier. For reasons I could not explain, I felt pulled to it.

This puzzle had a soft gradient of sky meeting sea and sand. It was one of those deceptively calming images that are actually a nightmare to piece together. But something in me said, “Just sit. Just try.” So I began sorting out all the pieces where the sky kissed the water, where the horizon was born.

And then it hit me. The message was quiet but clear: “Do not worry about all the little pieces right now. Just keep your eyes on the horizon.”

So I did. I built that line where the sea meets the sky, and as it came together, I felt something click inside me too. A reminder that sometimes, purpose is not about solving everything at once. Sometimes it is about focusing on the one straight line in front of you, the part that reminds you there is something bigger beyond the details.

Once the horizon was in place, I was able to work on a smaller section, one flower, one cloud, one seashell at a time. That puzzle, like life, did not come together all at once. But in building it, I was restored.

I was reminded.

Journal Prompt

Think of a time in your life when you were trying to solve the puzzle of your purpose.

• What were the edge pieces that gave you some clarity

• When did things come together quickly

• When did you feel stuck

• How did you know it was time to pause, or begin again

Write freely. Let your heart lead.