Missing Pieces of the Easter Puzzle

Kate Bates thought it would be a nice Easter afternoon family-building activity to work a jigsaw puzzle together. First, though, they had to find the pieces of the puzzle.

Kate had Betsy and Johnny Kendy come over on Saturday afternoon to hide the eggs, so that no one in her family would know where they were. The eggs are plastic, a hundred of them. While she was in The Happy Hare IGA Saturday morning, getting an extra ham, in case her brother, Jim, came to Sunday dinner, too, she grabbed a 100 piece puzzle off a shelf in the Wittgenstein Aisle. [Each aisle in The Happy Hare is named for a famous philosopher whose philosophical principles most closely align with the products in that aisle.]She had Betsy and Johnny put a puzzle piece into each plastic egg, along with a peep and a hollow chocolate, symbolizing the empty tomb. After Sunday dinner, she gave everyone a basket. Once they had found the eggs, they broke them open and ate the empty tombs and worked the puzzle.

Apparently, though, they did not find all the eggs. There were several important puzzle pieces missing, and they couldn't figure out what the picture was. Kate's husband, Prof. Ben "Seymour" Bottoms, had thrown the box into the trash without looking at it and had then taken the trash to the dump, so they couldn't consult the picture on the box.

Three-year-old Clara Wembley, Kate's granddaughter, knows where the missing eggs are, though. At least, she knows who has them. She watched Shingles, the dog, as he watched the family trying to work the puzzle, saw the satisfied smile on his face. She knows Shingles has hidden the missing eggs. All she has to do to be the hero of the family is stalk the dog until she tracks him to his secret lair. It may take a while, but when Shingles is involved, Clara is patient and tenacious. She still has not forgiven him for stealing her blankie on Christmas eve.

Clara doesn't know that retired pastor Randall Nathan was watching her watching Shingles. He is pleased. He knows that life is a puzzle, and that there are always pieces missing, so that you can't see the whole picture. He's also sure that some three-year-old will grow up and become a scientist or theologian and find a missing piece or two that will perhaps not make the puzzle whole but will at least make the pacture clearer.