What's Your Piece?

Written by Brooke Miller,  
FHF Regional Director in Southern California 
brooke@finallyhomefoundation.net

I grew up with puzzles at my Grandma’s house. There was always a puzzle spread on the card table in the formal living room, moved safely out of way from us rambunctious grandchildren who might hide - or swallow - a piece.

I don’t remember ever seeing one of Grandma’s puzzles completed. But I remember there was always one in progress, with a thousand puzzle pieces scattered on the card table.

Now and then I would sneak a peek in the formal living room – a privilege I claimed by virtue of being the oldest grandchild and being well out of swallow-danger when it came to puzzle pieces. All the pieces looked the same to me, with only slight distinctions in shades and colors and the tiniest hints of where it might belong. Grandma had a penchant for truly tricky puzzles – like ones from great watercolor artists.

I would look at the puzzle box-top and the pieces, with my young mind swirling with how on earth they could all fit together to make that picture. I learned at an early age that even with the puzzle box-top this would be daunting. But without it: nigh impossible.

Four years ago, I felt like I was staring at another daunting puzzle. I’d heard that there are over 150 million children in this world that can be considered “orphans”. Half a million of them are in the United States. And 3,000 of them are in Orange County, California – my home county.

A 150 million puzzle pieces.

But then I started hearing about God’s puzzle box-top. He is the God who sets the lonely in families – or in other words, He is the God who has a place for every single piece of the puzzle.

He who holds the puzzle box-top has 2.2 billion people to jump in. At latest count, 2.2 billion people proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior.  This means that if just 7% of the world’s proclaimed Christians were to take responsibility for an orphan, for a puzzle piece, then orphans would be no more.

Yes, the puzzle is daunting, but it’s also the most solvable crisis that this planet faces, because we have the puzzle box top, and we know the One who knows where all the pieces go.

Some of the pieces look the same, some quite different.

Last month, Finally Home Foundation got to host a gathering of over a dozen leaders within Orange County who are working together to see the puzzle box-top come together. To see Orphan Care become a vibrant reflection of God’s heart right here in Orange County. To see that number of “3,000 orphans” in Orange County drop. We discussed each of our different puzzle pieces, how they fit together, and how much joy and freedom can be found when we remember that we are not alone, but each a part of God’s very intricate, beautiful puzzle.

Will you ask just this one question today: What’s your piece?