Life's a Jigsaw!

You expected as much from one who is staring at jigsaw pieces twenty-four-seven and who will be doing so for the rest of her days in Malaysia, didn't you?

A piece of 2000-tile jigsaw puzzle may look very intimidating at first sight, but if you're at it long enough, you will realise that the whole puzzle is actually made up of sequences that are repeated over and over again. So, all you have to do is to sort the pieces according to colour and type, identify the sequence of tiles, and everything else will fall into place gradually.

And if you have lived life long enough, you will also realise that life is made up of sets of routines. You wake up early in the morning, go to school, return home when you are done, have your meals, do your work, go to sleep, and you wake up the next morning to begin the routine all over again.

However, the routines are different at every phase of your life. Schooling life has its own routine, working life has another. No two rows of the jigsaw puzzle has the same sequence of tiles. So at the beginning of every new row, you will have to identify the new sequence. This is the hardest part, but once this is done and you've adapted to the new routine, you settle down quite nicely into it.

But there is a twist. Sometimes the sequence is disrupted by the corner tiles. There are slight changes to the established routine, but once in a while, a little variation is a desirable break in the routine. After all, routines are dull, and I cannot imagine my life as a boot camp.

There are times when you have to try all the tiles in order to find that one tile that fits nicely, but there are also times when the first one you pick up is the one that fits. But no matter what, at the end of the day, you will definitely find that perfect piece. A detour or two along the way will do you no harm. You may even learn a thing or two on the way. The most important thing is that you get to your destination in the end.

And the most frustrating times are the times when you seem to have tried every single tile and none of them seems to fit. You are frustrated and you begin to question why on earth are you even sitting here in the first place. No sweat! All you've got to do is to take a deep breath and exhale, and start trying all the tiles all over again. You will somehow realise that, in your exhaustion and impatience, you've missed out the correct tile. Thank God for second chances in life! Although you don't always get to undo past mistakes, there are times in life when you are given 'take-twos'. So just take a break, get yourself refreshed, and do it all over again.

Life is a jigsaw puzzle, but it is by no means puzzling. Because the One who does the puzzle has the Big Picture in His hands. The whole picture is already painted way before the first tile was ever put into place. All He has to do is to fit the correct tile into the correct place, and voila! We have a complete Big Picture at the end of it.

Ah... isn't this enlightening? Life's lessons from a jigsaw! I never knew doing jigsaw puzzle can be so enlightening. So, if anyone wants to be enlightened or is interested to contribute to KLBCC's building-fund by doing jigsaw puzzle, please dial 1800-88-DORC, that is, 1800-88-3672.

Irony of Life

"If good things lasted forever,

would we appreciate how precious they are?"

-Hobbes

It takes losing something to realise ever having it, and realise how precious it has ever been. Isn't it ironic? Yes, it is another one of the ironies of life.

I am counting the days, realising just how blessed I am, and how precious things are to me. And it suddenly becomes so hard to let go.

The Waiting Room

"But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:31

I can definitely endorse the authenticity of this verse. After all, I have been waiting, and am still waiting. All that I do everyday is eat, and sleep, and eat more, and sleep more. It is a wonder if my strength is not renewed.

Waiting has been a significant part of my life.

I still remember the last time I was waiting, I sank into a spell of depression and self-pity. It was not the most pleasant and proudest period of my life, and yet the irony of it was that it came after a huge victory. I guess when you are waiting, you just have so much time on your hands, so much so that you have nothing better to do than to let your thoughts wander into some forbidden region of your mind. You begin to think about everything that never even occurred to you when you had busier days. For me, my thoughts wandered to my loss and my failure.

Fancy mentioning these two words right after a major victory, huh? But yes, my thoughts chose to dwell on all that I was unable to grasp. I thought about all the plans I had for myself, all the plans which did not materialise. I thought about the uncertainty of what lies ahead of me. I was waiting, but I did not know what I was waiting for.

But in spite of it all, the promise of Isaiah 40:31 was waiting to be claimed. And it was proven true. The waiting was not in vain. The Lord on whom I was waiting led me to open doors that I never knew existed. While I was waiting, He was working.

Now I find myself waiting again. But this time round, it is different. I am not dwelling in uncertainty. I know where I am heading to. Still, I find my thoughts wandering to unfamiliar grounds. I reflect on all that is in and around my life. I reflect on all the little wonders surrounding me, things and people that I never had time for. And I realise just how blessed I am.

I have come to realise that waiting can be fruitful. The waiting room can be surrounded by four walls, with seemingly nothing. But it is what you do in that little room, and how you use the time, that make a difference. While I wait on Him, I know I wait in expectancy on Him, and when my strength is renewed in Him, I will run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.

Waiting has been a significant part of my life, and it will continue to be.

Wonders of the Present

Here's another reason why I love Calvin and Hobbes!

"Sometimes it seems things go by too quickly.

We are so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us

that we don't take the time to enjoy where we are."

-Calvin

Now this is so true! Especially for me. And especially when I will only be where I am for one more month.

So, carpe diem, amigo!

Superpower Craze

I really think that our society is obsessed with superheroes and superpowers. From the classic Superman, Batman and Spiderman, to the more modern version found in 'Heroes', we never fail to engage ourselves in the fantasy of possessing superpowers.

So I was watching a beauty pageant on TV, and one of the judges asked one of the contestants that, if she were to have one superpower, what would it be, and why. That's like given a permit to dwell in her fantasy. After all, who does not dream of having superpowers? In fact, the more the better.

Of course, one of the most desirable superpowers is time-travelling. This is pretty obvious, especially as propagated by Hollywood. From 'Back To The Future' to 'Heroes', time-travelling never fails to enthral people like you and I, who are trapped in the present time. How often have I sat and thought about what I can and want to change if I can only go back in time! I want to undo a relationship. I want to make the right decisions. I want to blot out a certain period of time on my life. Oh! There are just a hundred and one things I want to undo, if only I can turn back time.

Or do I? Maybe not.

After all, all that I have been through has become a part of who I am today. As unpleasant as they may be, they have made me who I am today. There is always a lesson to be learned even out of the most unpleasant experience. I would have been a totally different person today if not for all that I have been through in the past. So, maybe I don't want to travel back in time after all.

And the second most desirable superpower, is probably immortality. I know this for a fact because mere mortals of all times have asked for immortality in one way or another. Shi Huang Ti, as wise as he was, was stupid enough to send a troop in search of the medicine that gives him eternal youth. And of course, not to mention Claire's (the cheerleader in 'Heroes') power of regeneration. I mean, who does not want to live forever?

Or do we? I doubt it.

Yea, sure I want to see my children grow old and watch my grandchildren grow up. But there will come a time in life when we think that we have seen all there is to see, and then, death will become a welcoming end. Life and death are parts of the human experience. Death is just as essential an ending as life is the beginning. I am not sure if I really want to live forever, when everything around me is fading away. Because the thing that is scarier and more painful than death itself is losing the ones you love, and having to watch it take place before your very own eyes.

"So, if you were to have one superpower, what would it be, and why?"

If I were to have but one superpower, I want to have the ability to live my present to the fullest, seizing every moment of my life. Because the present is the most wonderful gift of God that I will never have again. That's why I will not squander even one second away. So that when the end comes, I am well-prepared, knowing that I have no regrets.