Sudoku Life Strategy

I don't remember who introduced me to these puzzles but I am glad they did

the books I work have four levels of difficulty
I remember how excited I was when I was able to do 
the first level without making notes in the corners 
how challenging level two was
how difficult level three was
I threw books away when level four puzzles 
were the only ones remaining


there came a point when I could do the second level with minimal notes
I could do level three if I worked on it a few days
I attempted a few level fours before pitching the book




practice made the puzzles easier to manage
the first time I did the first two levels with NO notes
and level three with just a few,
I was pretty excited
I actually completed a few of level four

somewhere along the way 
I began to approach the puzzles differently
I started to look at and work with what was there, 
as a whole,
rather than focusing on what was missing in each square
levels one and two became almost too easy,
three was almost like working level one when I began
and four, 
well, level four became an enjoyable challenge

as I was working in my present Sudoku book a few days ago
a "light bulb" went off in my head
slowly I am incorporating my new puzzle strategy into my life

rather than being distracted by each little square
(those empty places REALLY bothered me at first
and were easily where my focus was)
I am slowly learning to look at life more as a whole,
to know that, in the end, 
all the blank spots can and will be filled in
I am focusing more on what IS IN my life,
because enjoying the process of completing the puzzle is important,
more important than the blank spaces that remain

*Sometimes when I start a puzzle I think "this is impossible, I will never get through this one, it is too hard." I do not know what belongs in each one of the blank places until the whole puzzle is done. As more places are filled in the puzzle makes more sense. Like life. I do not know what each empty day holds, but I do know who holds the day. Knowing that life isn't supposed to make sense yet because He isn't done working, that He will fill in all of the empty places and complete the puzzle, that is enough to give me joy.