On the weekends, my cousin Shelly and I spent time with our maternal great-grandmother, Memaw Bertha as we called her 🙂 We were spoiled with trips to McDonald’s or Burglar Chef (as she called it – she could never pronounce anything, bless her heart) and our favorite all time place, Wal-Mart. Memaw and Papaw Wallace (my treasure also known as my step great-grandfather) treated us to lunch and then let us pick out something at the store. It was the highlight of our weekend.

Memaw was very fond of working puzzles – a love I have still to this day. Her dining room table was designated for working puzzles as opposed to eating. I mean we really did not need a place to eat as we were so full from our happy meals 🙂

Memaw did not work on 50 to 100 piece puzzles either. She worked on 500 to 1000 piece puzzles. And there I would be, sitting on my legs in a chair, so I could watch and help. There were so many tiny little pieces and it would take hours almost days to complete.

The more puzzles I worked, the better I became. I picked up on the strategies for working puzzles; work the outside edge first, sort pieces by color, feel the shapes, and move the pieces around until you find the place where it fits. There was nothing more satisfying than to place the last piece and see your crafted masterpiece.

For the majority of my life, I have waited for “someone” to recognize me and all the unfair events in my life. Sure, I have had people tell me how sorry they were for what had happened and listened and provided support during my trying times, but it just did not completely satisfy. It was almost as if it was a topical cream applied to the surface of my wounded heart. Nothing ever truly healed the deep-rooted wound I carried around for 30+ years.

But this past Sunday and last night (Wednesday) at Church, my Pastor said something so profound and through him, the Lord spoke directly to me. The Lord recognized and publicly acknowledged all that had happened to me and I have never been the same.

Photo credit – justtgod.wordpress.com

It was as if that missing piece of my mended heart could only be placed by God, the One who heals, the One who saves, the One who redeems.

I feel complete, I feel whole, and I feel redeemed.

All the years of searching and looking for “someone” to validate me are finally over. The past has been sealed with the missing piece and a new life awaits. Words will never truly describe this feeling, but I will say that it is amazing. It is freeing.

Someone of you may not understand, but I’m pretty confident that some of you do. There is a piece that is missing and you have spent your whole life searching for it, only to come up empty.

If you allow the One to work the pieces, feel the shapes, and place that missing piece, you will become the beautiful masterpiece He envisioned all along and you will never be the same.