Piece versus Peace

Picking a name for our blog was quite a task.  David and I were having agreement issues to put it lightly.  Then we settled on the idea of a “missing piece”.  Specifically one from a puzzle.  

Piece:
I, secretly, love putting together puzzles.  I indulge this habit about once a year when we go on vacation with our extended family.  We spend nights watching movies, playing games, and aggressively putting together puzzles.  I figure if you do it aggressively, you can count it as a sport--right?  Perhaps we can put it on the same aerobic level as the Olympic sport of curling (which I also happen to love).

Back to puzzles.  I love investing time into something and then watching it come together.  A mish-mash of crazy sized pieces fitting together to make a bigger picture. 

Nerdy puzzle love?  Check!!

 
Confession: In college, during a visit to another dorm’s common room--I may have relocated a few pieces from a partially done puzzle on a table.  Ahhh-Christian school pranks, they truly brought out the most juvenile in us all.  But looking back with the wisdom I have now (haha), I see how frustrating it would be to get to the end of your puzzle and realize that 
 
     1.)  Not only are you are participating in a hobby for the 
           more mature (ahem, elderly) of us, but also
     2.)  You lack the pieces to finish the task.

And that’s where the second “Peace” comes in.

Peace:
There are many ways to define this word.  The sense of comfort one feels when they are right smack dab in the middle of Jesus’ awesome plans for them.  A brief time when everyone in your family is getting along.  The supreme quiet that happens when your 5 year old has finally run out of questions.  I’m not going to be talking about any of those.  We’ll be dealing with “vacation peace” here.

  Not peaceful....who us?

 
Vacation Peace-The complete calm and carefree feeling one has when no schedule exists.  No deadlines.  Nothing pending.  Just freedom.  My poor over-busy Daddy experiences this maybe once a year at our aforementioned family vacation.  And I think it is why he spends a lot of time napping.  His overwrought brain can finally shut down for awhile.

Ahhhh-vacation peace has never looked so good!

 
But I think unrest can be good too.  Especially when you are in the middle of something.  When we have work to do, a fire should be lit under us--we should have ants in our pants because we are not finished yet.  Vacation Peace is not acceptable when a piece is still missing.

And the reality is--there is a woman in Africa, right now, who could be pregnant with OUR daughter!  A piece of our family potentially already exists halfway around the world.  This drives us crazy, it makes us excited--we are in a state of constant unrest!  Not that we aren’t happy or enjoying our moments together, but we cannot feel that ultimate “peace” until we are all together as a family.  Because there is still work to be done.  

And so, “Our Missing Peace” was christened as our adoption blog.  It was quite a journey to just pick the name, but we feel that even the small things are important.  Perhaps they are the most important; evidence that the piecing together of seemingly “insignificant” things can create an infinitely significant whole.  A changed life; a complete picture.

Our logo!  It's pretty perfect if I do say so myself.