6

The next morning, Nia sat up in bed. Sunlight streamed through the curtains and she offered a quick morning prayer. The past summers she’d come to Puzzle House, she would help Cooper with food prep and cleanup, but that didn’t feel like the right thing any longer. It was time to step up. This summer would be different.

How could she use the healing power God had given her? She’d spent the past three years studying God’s Word. She was ready. It was time to step up and take her place at Puzzle House. At least a little bit.

The thought that she’d been chosen by God had kept her from going down some wrong paths that many of her friends had chosen. Tears filled her eyes. Nia couldn’t believe Keisha was making such bad decisions. Her anointing as a healer had kept Nia from doing the same.

Nia straightened. Puzzle House was her home. She would go where God led her. “What do You want me to do, God?”

A puzzle.

“You want me to work on puzzles? With people? Here?”

It is called Puzzle House, after all.

God was talking to her. Definitely not her thoughts because the idea of working on puzzles with people terrified her. She wasn’t Rachel—she didn’t have that much wisdom. “Are You sure?”

Nothing.

“God, are you still there?”

Apparently, God was done talking with her.

Nia stood up. “OK, well then, I’m not getting all stressed out about it. Wondering what I should say or not say. God, You’ll need to give me the right words. I’ll just do it.” She went directly to the Puzzle Room. Her determination grew with each step.

A woman sat at a table concentrating on a puzzle.

Nia took a deep breath. “Hi, I’m Nia.”

“I’m Marsha.” Soft brown hair fell well below her shoulders. “Are you a guest here as well? I haven’t seen you before.”

“I got here yesterday, and no. I’m not a guest. I’m…” She paused and went on. “I’m…here to help you with your puzzle.”

“Great. I’ve been here three days, and this is all the further I’ve gotten. I haven’t really done any big puzzles like this before. I think I bit off more than I could chew.”

“I understand that.” Nia felt exactly the same way that very second. God, give me the right words. “But one of the things that makes our puzzle easier is to build the frame first. The right frame or foundation makes everything a little bit easier.”

Marsha looked up from the puzzle pieces. “Are you speaking figuratively or literally?”

Nia grinned. “Actually both, but let’s worry about literally right now. Find all the smooth-edged pieces and focus on those first. Once you’ve got the frame, the pieces will fit better.”

“I guess it’s like that in life, too.” They sorted and put the pieces together.

“So, Nia, what do you think makes a good frame for life?” Marsha asked.

“The only thing that makes sense is God. If you let God be the frame of your life, then circumstances won’t matter as much as your relationship with Him.”

Marsha nodded. “That makes sense.”

Thanks, God for giving me the right words.

“As a Christian writer, I thought I was doing that, but now I’m not so sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I’ve gotten so focused on book sales and reviews that I’ve forgotten the reason I started writing in the first place.”

“Why did you start writing?”

“To share the Good News of the Gospel in story form. I like to say I’m a parable writer, just like Jesus. Do you know what a parable is?”

“It’s a story with the purpose of illustrating a point. The story about the boy who took the money from his father and then wasted it was a parable.”

“Right. My favorite definition is an earthly story with a heavenly message.”

“I like that. It sounds to me as though you’re writing for the right reason.”

“That used to be true, but lately I’ve started shaping my stories so that they would sell more books. In other words, I focus more on the plot then on their relationship with God. And even though my book sales went up, my satisfaction with my writing has gone down. Way down.”

“I’m sure there’s lots of ways to serve God with your writing.”

“True, but I’ve known for a while my way wasn’t working for me. That’s why I came here. I definitely needed time to focus on what God wants me to do. To see what the next step in my career is.”

They put several more pieces of the puzzle together in a companionable silence.

Marsha stood up. “Wow. Look at how much progress we’ve made. I’m going to take a walk so I can think. Thanks, Nia, for helping me to verbalize what I needed to say out loud.” Marsha walked out of the room.

Cooper walked in with a big smile on his face. “And here I thought you were here to help me crack eggs and bake cookies for the summer. Seriously, you did a great job, Nia.”

“You were listening.”

“Only for a little while. I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but when I heard you talking, it was as though Rachel was back.”

“I don’t know about that, but God did give me the right words to help Marsha.”

“Very much so. And remember what Rachel always said, there’s more than one kind of healing. And you’ve done a wonderful job with Marsha.” He hugged her. “Now how about cracking some eggs so we can have omelets?”