Ten Fascinating Truths I Learnt Completing a Jigsaw Puzzle

The value of humanity found in a single piece

14 years ago, I received my first 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, ‘Drama at the Opera.’ It was a Christmas present. Living alone, with a 2 week holiday looming, I decided to have a go. Big mistake. For the next three days, I did little else.

My routine became - wake up at 11:30am start on the the Jigsaw with snacks and TV in the background. Break at 7:00pm for a shower, cook , socialise till 2am. Straight back to the Jigsaw till 6:00am, sleep until 11:30am. Repeat. Repeat.

As I binged on Kit Kat and instant coffee, ten clear parallels between the pieces of the puzzle and self-worth emerged. It was so clear and simple. Anyone who has put together a jigsaw puzzle would immediately understand these truths. The key question is, ‘Are they true for you?’

“Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you’re worthy of the trip.” ― Glenn Beck, The Christmas Sweater

Here are the 10 fascinating truths I learnt.

1. Each piece of the puzzle is equally important

From the first piece on the table, to the last piece, every piece mattered. Regardless of when or where I used it. Regardless of its shape or colour. Regardless of the pattern or image. It mattered.

“It does not matter how you came into the world, what matters is that you are here.” Oprah Winfrey

All humans are equally important. Don’t ever think that someone is better than you. They may be bigger, richer, taller, or fit better in a particular position, but they are not more important than you. You Matter.

2. Each piece of the puzzle is unique

A number of puzzle pieces were similar in shape. The pieces that made up the night sky had similar images. But when it came to completing the puzzle, only one piece with its unique tabs and slots, was perfect for a specific position.

“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.” Viktor E. Frankl

There is no one like you. Regardless of your status, class, age or race, skills or experience. No-one can bring your essence to the world. You Matter.

3. Each piece of the puzzle has a role in the big picture

The completed jigsaw produced picture that told a story. Each piece was part of the story with a specific role to play. Some were ‘edge’ pieces, others were the grass, or the water. Some had intricate detail, others had none. Yet each one was part of the story.

The Universe is incomplete without you. You may feel insignificant, but history would be incomplete without you.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Ps 8: 3–5

You Matter.

4. Each piece plays a key role in determining the place of other pieces

Halfway through the puzzle I noticed I got faster at putting the puzzle together. Each time I found a place for a piece, it made it easier to fit others.

“Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world’s phenomena intersect, only once in this way, and never again.” Hermann Hesse

Humanity is incomplete without you. I have met people that think they are useless. How wrong they are. We are molded into who we are today because of the people who brush our lives. In the same way, you leave a piece of yourself in other people’s lives. You Matter.

5. Each piece is required

At the start of the puzzle, a few pieces did not make sense. I could not immediately see how they fitted. I did not discard them, I knew I would need them sometime even when I put them aside.

“Lord, when I feel that what I’m doing is insignificant and unimportant, help me to remember that everything I do is significant and important in your eyes, because you love me and you put me here, and no one else can do what I am doing in exactly the way I do it.” Brennan Manning, Souvenirs of Solitude: Finding Rest in Abba’s Embrace

You may not be as successful or visible as other people, but your time will come. The time when you fulfil the purpose for which you were born. You may be in limbo now, but you are still valuable. You Matter.

6. Each piece is irreplaceable

The pieces that made up the night sky were bland, with no obvious background or detail. Regardless, they were valuable. They could not be replaced by a better-looking piece or a bigger piece. had value.

“A human being is so irreplaceable. So valuable and so unique.” Goran Persson

It is a fact, that some people have no apparent worth. In the eyes of the world, perhaps at work, or in a relationship, they may be replaceable. But in life, there is just one you. You Matter.

7. Each piece is vital

By the end of the puzzle I had 3 pieces missing. The jigsaw was incomplete with 3 gaping holes. I spent 3 hours looking for the pieces. The jigsaw puzzle is incomplete and will remain on the table until I find those 3 pieces.

“What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won’t she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? Then she will call in her friends and neighbours and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found the coin I lost.” Luke 15: 8

997 pieces of the puzzle are important, but could not make up for the 3 pieces I lost. Your life counts. You Matter.

8. Each piece had my complete focus

Each time I picked up a piece to determine its position, it had my complete focus. I had the big picture in my head, but that piece, at that time made up my entire concentration.

It was not that other pieces were less important, but I focused on one piece, poring over the table, looking for its perfect fit. You Matter.

9. Each piece was part of a bigger important design

For three days, the puzzle consumed me. Even in sleep, I visualized the puzzle in my head, mentally putting pieces together. Waking up, I sat at the puzzle, with a piece in my hand and my eyes on the picture - “Drama at the Opera.”

The value of a piece could only be measured in the context of the big picture. “Do you think you were created to pass exams, get a job, work and raise a family. Or to buy designer clothes, drive a Bugatti Chiron or own a private jet?”

I don’t think so. I believe that self-worth cannot be based on achievements, there must be more. You matter, within a context.

10. It was good

Finally. I completed the puzzle and it was perfect -just like the picture on the back of the jigsaw pack. I experienced a strong satisfaction in knowing every piece was in the right position and the finished design was what I set out to achieve.

Then I understood. The purpose of each piece was not linked to itself or its position in the puzzle, its shape or image, pattern or colour. Though important, none of these defined the worth of the piece. The value of each piece is seen in the perfection of the bigger picture. ‘You matter, within the context of creation.

You are a piece in the jigsaw of life

I did some research on Jigsaw puzzles as I wrote this article.

In the making of a puzzle, the picture comes first before the pieces. Pretty obvious isn’t it? But an important point nevertheless.

“Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I chose you for a special work. Jeremiah 1:5

A picture existed before you did, and you came into being when that picture was cut up. (PS: Do you ever feel like a chess piece? that the gods are playing games with us? Topic for another article I guess)

The point is that the big picture matters. As I uploaded pictures of the completed jigsaw on social media, I realized that despite the hard work, I could not show off the puzzle if a single piece was missing.

In the end, ‘You matter’ is a message from the creator.

Not a message from inanimate objects, vain ambitions or selfish desires. If you measure your worth by these standards, you will always fall short.

So take your gaze off people, they are just pieces after all. Understand that you are part of the puzzle called “Life in the Universe,” and You Matter.

“You can be the most beautiful person in the world and everybody sees light and rainbows when they look at you, but if you yourself don’t know it, all of that doesn’t even matter. Every second that you spend on doubting your worth, every moment that you use to criticise yourself; is a second of your life wasted, is a moment of your life thrown away. It’s not like you have forever, so don’t waste any of your seconds, don’t throw even one of your moments away.” ― C. JoyBell C.

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