Pieces
I’m grateful for the pieces of the puzzle….
Over the years as I’ve searched for answers to why I was feeling so horrible, I saw numerous doctors and had numerous tests. As time went on and no answers were found, I began looking outside of the traditional medical field. I was led to many different people and places in the alternative world where my search continued. My husband and I have also done extensive research on our own. With each test, doctor’s visit or article I read, whether through traditional or alternative medicine, I would learn something new. Sometimes what I learned was that I didn’t have a particular condition or problem, and sometimes I would find answers to a portion of my problems. But I never went to one place or doctor where I found the full solution.
Recently as more answers have been coming, I am looking back on all the previous experiences I’ve had, and I’m realizing that each one of those tests, doctors, naturopaths and research, have given me a piece to my own puzzle. This journey is like a puzzle, with many scattered pieces spread out in confusion. As I learn something through each test or suggestion given, it’s as though I’m picking up one piece of the puzzle at a time and finding where it belongs. Each piece has its own place. I search for the right color or shape that will somehow fit into what is already there, and then one by one, pick up each piece to put it in its proper spot. I’m beginning to realize that maybe there isn’t one big answer to my issues; one answer that will suddenly appear and solve all my problems. Maybe my solution lies in the pieces, that when put together, will make up the whole. I’m grateful to all of those who have given me pieces to my puzzle along the way. It gives me hope to think that at some point, all the pieces will fit together and I will have all the answers I need to heal and maintain a healthy me.
Sometimes there are pieces that are almost identical; ones that get repeated again and again from different sources. I think I need to pay close attention to those pieces, and make sure that I’m finding a way to fit them in. Those pieces, the ones that keep coming to me from different sources, may be the key pieces to my puzzle.
Whether in chronic illness or other challenges, life is like a puzzle for each of us. When things get really hard to understand because we can’t see the whole picture, if we can take some time to ponder on the various pieces we’ve been given, we can begin to see that we actually have been receiving answers along the way; pieces to the puzzle that will fit together as we learn how to put our own puzzle together, piece by piece.
Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash