"Sometimes it is hard to find all the pieces to the puzzle, but when you finally connect all the pieces, you realized the reason you worked so hard to find their place in the big picture." -Victoria Orsingher Journaling Reads:
One of the items on my life list was to complete a 1000 piece puzzle. We worked on this beauty all of December and found that it gave us lots of time together and helped to turn off the stress of life. (Created with Merry and Bright by Sahlin Studios and Template by Sabrina Designs for December Challenge) Why a puzzle? I'm not sure. I have lots of memories of childhood putting puzzles together and remember the sense of satisfaction of finally finishing a puzzle after days of trying to find the right fit for those impossible places. As I was shopping for Christmas on Amazon, this puzzle came up on the daily deals and I thought, "Why not?" The first night I opened it, the kids were all about helping me find the edges, but the excitement quickly faded as we began to struggle with pieces that weren't quite the right fit. By the end of the first night, Luke and I had enjoyed a couple of Christmas Beers and the edges were put together. Over the next few weeks, we sat down for a while here and a while there. Much to my surprise, I loved how I felt calm and peaceful as I worked on this pastime. What started as guilt for not doing something productive soon turned into joy as I savored the quiet time with Luke. I was also surprised how much he enjoyed the puzzle--he says it is how his brain works so it was nice to focus on this instead of puzzles at work that are not easily solved. We used our puzzle time to enjoy Christmas music, a movie or two, and lots of quality time relaxing over the holiday season. When we woke up this morning, we decided it was time to finish. (Partly because it was a great way to spend a vacation day and partly because I really, really wanted my kitchen table back :)) After another couple of hours, it was finished and we both felt a sense of accomplishment! We will let it sit out until New Years and then it will be back into the box for another year. Next time, we will set it up in the bar--so we can still eat while we destress!
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"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light from a single candle." -St. Francis of Assisi I am a quitter. These are words that no one really wants to speak out loud, but unfortunately in my case they are true. I am filled with big ideas and aspirations but often lack the fortitude to finish them. Scrapbooks remain half done, advent calendars of chocolate are thrown out still half full of uneaten candy and many half read books lay scattered around the house on any flat surface they can find. So for this advent season, I decided I wanted to finish SOMETHING. But what? A new type of calendar? A book? A bible study? My to-do list? (OK, that one is way too hard). After careful pondering, I finally decided that I would order a Danish advent candle that I would burn from start to finish. A quick trip to Amazon and this beauty was on the way. (Click on the image if you want to order your own!) ![]() When it arrived, I placed it in the beautiful crystal candle holder that I received for my wedding 16 years ago but had never been used. Each nigh as I cooked dinner or as the kids trudged through their homework or as Luke and I sat down to work on our jigsaw puzzle, we would light the candle and let it burn down to the date. It's light presided over our Christmas party with Luke's family as well. As it burned, this candle provided a warm light to battle the dark winter night as solstice came upon us. As the wax melted, it created quirky and chaotic wax sculptures that reminded me of Elsa's Frozen Ice Castle. As the month went on, it continued to burn lower and lower each and every night. Was I perfect about burning my candle each day? Definitly not. Some nights we had dinner plans or hockey games of take out in front of the TV as we tried to finish the hustle and bustle on the holiday todo list. But on each of the evenings that we spent in the kitchen, I lit the candle and let it catch up on its imprecate journey to finished. There was something beautiful about knowing that the journey was imprecate but the destination was still there waiting at the end. Tonight as I threw out the last remnants of the advent candle, the lesson I take with me is that although our journey through life is filled with imperfection, the final destination of heaven is lighting our way to the end. There are beautiful moments in dark times where warmth and love are what pull us through. Merry Christmas! Remember that God's love burns bright each day! |
AuthorAlmost 40 and tired of the treadmill, I am going to LIVE each day as a new adventure while finishing todo items on my life list. Mom, wife, teacher, geek! Archives
May 2020
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