Does Your Puzzle Have Missing Pieces?

Guest Post by Lauri Lemke Thompson

“Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” Ruth 1:20-21 (NIV).

Life feels like a 1000-piece puzzle sometimes, doesn’t it? The worst possible thing that can happen when doing a puzzle is that, after much time and effort, one piece is missing. It’s a semi-disaster, and your very soul craves completion. You might even feel like upending the entire thing and throwing it on the floor.

I think most of us have missing pieces in our lives. All credit for the analogy goes to Jennifer Rothschild, who wrote a Bible study called Missing Pieces: Real Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense. In Jennifer’s case, the main thing “missing” is her sight, as she is blind. 

What’s missing for you may be a spouse, a baby, a dream job, or a much-desired award. For some, what’s missing is a good relationship with a child, a friend, a sibling, or a parent. Others long for the missing piece of pain-free living or good health.

Whatever it is, we may feel like Naomi. Wow. Naomi said she was full but now feels empty. And she makes no bones about who she blames – God.

What brought on this expression of bitterness and loss of hope? Naomi’s husband and two sons had died. She was a grieving widow and mother who had suffered great loss. And in her society, widowhood usually meant poverty and vulnerability.

However, one key thing Naomi still had was an incredibly loving, loyal daughter-in-law named Ruth, who had said to her, “Don’t ask me to leave you. Where you go, I will go.” Naomi held a puzzle piece that would prove immeasurably valuable.

We can’t control what good things are snatched from us. But with God’s help, we can control our thoughts and attitudes. We can focus on the pieces we still possess instead of our missing pieces. And Naomi had Ruth.

Our merciful God did not reject Naomi for her heartfelt expression of bitterness. As things developed, He provided for her through a rich relative, Boaz, who married Ruth. In time, the Lord even gave her a new baby to dote over: a grandson, Obed – not just any grandson, but one who would become an ancestor to the Savior. 

Here’s what the neighbor ladies said to Naomi as she held that precious baby: “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; . . . And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age.” Ruth 4:14-15 (NIV) 

No, God did not reject Naomi because she had expressed her honest, despairing emotions. He won’t reject you either if you tell Him how you feel because of what you are missing. Instead, He’ll demonstrate His great love.

While He does warn in Hebrews 12:15 to disallow bitterness from taking root, He is compassionate, promising in Jeremiah 29:11 to give us “a hope and a future.” It may take time to see that work out, but He will be with you in the waiting.

A Wisconsin native, Lauri Lemke Thompson appreciates living in the lovely Ozark Mountains in Branson, Missouri. She is active in Christian Women’s Connection (Stonecroft) and the Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers. Her two books, Hitting Pause and Pressing Forward, are collections of her columns, articles, and devotions. Her bimonthly column appears in the Branson Globe newspaper.