Life's Puzzles

I love crossword puzzles, the harder the better. I like the “mind-stretch” required to find the solutions. I like pondering the
possibilities for answers and unraveling the quirky clues. I like
learning things when I discover what goes in the blanks. I love the
moment when the answer suddenly pops into my head, aided by letters
that get added as I solve the “down” clues while wondering about
the “across”.
Sometimes I look at a new puzzle’s clues, and I can’t fill in the answers. I may read futilely down through a few dozen clues before I
find a single answer that I’m sure about. Sometimes two or even three
different answers would fit: When the clue is “Mauna ___,” is it LOA
or KEA? I’m reduced to waiting to write in one of the “correct” responses
until I have a few letters from the opposite direction which help me
know which answer fits.
Without answers for lots of the “down” squares, I could never find
answers for all the “across” squares. Down and across are inseparably
bound; incomplete without the other. People are like that, too. Different people have different talents and strengths, as well as different stores
of experience and knowledge. We need the support of those other people,
and they need our support. Together, we help each other, lead each other,
“clue each other in”, and assure one another that the answers we fill in
are correct. Alone, we can’t really finish the puzzle. We can’t be sure
our solutions are the best for a particular puzzle.
We should always be grateful to those who teach us and support us.
We should realize how vital these supports are in our successes. We should
also try to always be that kind of support to those around us, giving them answers when they can’t find them alone. If two people can’t come up with answers, they can search together through the resources available, and they
can kneel together and ask for access to the ultimate key. We should be
willing and anxious to solve life’s puzzles, and we shouldn’t give up,
even when the solutions seem impossible or far away.
In life’s crossword puzzle, there is always available to us a “list
of clues”. There is often the assurance of opposite fill-ins; we “acrosses”
can check with the “downs” and the “downs” can check our “across” answers. There is always a “crossword dictionary” and there are myriad sources for answers and ideas as we work our puzzles and stretch our stores of
knowledge. One day we will have full access to life’s ultimate “key”.
As we face life’s puzzles, let’s open the scriptures, seek answers
from the special witnesses of Jesus Christ, counsel with honorable people who’ve experienced similar troubles, and above all, let’s turn to the Lord,
who knows exactly what answers we need. Though we may feel “puzzled”, if
we do not doubt, God will deliver us-- in His perfect time frame.