Crossword Puzzles

Last year while I was at college, I spent time in between classes working on solving the crossword in the local paper. I always loved doing it because it was a challenge to see if I could work my way around the puzzle figuring out how things fit together. At times I would get frustrated because it seemed like there was no possible way that "pood" is a word and therefore all my other words must be wrong too. When I would see the solutions the next day, I would find that not only is "pood" a word (it's a Russian weight) but I would also be surprised at how simple some of my missing answers were. Apparently I would spend hours over thinking the clues when in reality the answers were simple, clear, and made sense.

Just as with crosswords, it can seem as if our lives are one big board full of empty squares that we have to fill in. When we work on it alone, it may seem that none of it makes sense or we may miss the meaning all together. Luckily, however, we have the solution key: the scriptures. Through the holy scriptures, God has given us the answers to the questions in life as well as the path we should follow. As we read and apply them in our lives today we can see how things like "grace", "faith", and "repentance" work together in the puzzle of our mortal lives: 

G						F
R	E	P	E	N	T	A	N	C	E
A						I
C						T
E						H

Even though it may seem hard at times, I know that if I'll just turn to the answers, I realize that it isn't nearly as complicated as I thought. God loves each and every one of us and has shown us the path and "key" that we should follow if we are willing to seek his word from the holy scriptures.