When it comes to doing puzzles, I need all the help I can get! My mother loves doing puzzles and will sit for hours putting them together. She’ll tell you it’s cheating to look at the box. Part of the fun is figuring out the picture. She employs a methodical process: Turn the pieces right side up, find your corners, assemble the edges, get your frame and the center will come together.

This concept drives me nuts. Show me the box, and you’re already looking at a pretty picture. So why should I spend hours assembling the pieces to recreate a picture on the box? Besides, the picture on the box is smooth. The completed puzzle is bumpy. Why go through this bumpy, scrambled drill? Aren’t there more important things to do? Puzzles aren’t easy for me; it takes me a while to figure out the pieces and get them to fall into place. I guess I just don’t have the patience, at least, figuratively speaking.

On the other hand, if I think about the puzzle metaphorically, the picture becomes life. Not always smooth going, life certainly has plenty of bumps! Suddenly the concept of the puzzle makes sense. To enter fully into life is to sift through the pieces and find a way to make them fit. It’s hard work, and it doesn’t always come easy. In fact, there are often times when I’m just plain puzzled.

Other times, the pieces just fall into place creating a beautiful masterpiece. When this happens, some of the pieces have a distinct role – they make up the corners and the edges. Some are smooth, and others may be rough around the edges. They all fit, and we recognize their place. They provide the framework, so that you can fill in the inside pieces – typically more difficult to figure out – curved, cut, and rounded, they require maneuvering to fall into place.

Fundraising each summer for Project G.R.A.C.E. is like putting together a puzzle. Why some lives get turned upside down, one may never know. Together, we as community can pull the pieces of life together. We all know how frustrating it is to nearly complete the puzzle, only to discover some of the pieces are missing. Like the puzzle, our community isn’t whole unless all the pieces are there. And that means finding the lost pieces, and getting them turned around. Project G.R.A.C.E. is the missing piece of the puzzle for families who have fallen on hard times. Serving Scarborough directly, and Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Gorham, Westbrook, and Portland via referral from various social service agencies, community members and dedicated volunteers are able to help people by providing temporary and immediate assistance.

To beg is a humbling experience. It’s a confession of sorts that says all is not right, and help is needed. While I may not be able to do this for myself, to ask on behalf of a great organization – responsible stewards of donated resources – is to put together puzzles metaphorically. And, this is time well spent.

Regardless of age, everyone in our community can contribute to the Project G.R.A.C.E. puzzle. This past week, a visit to Heidi’s House Child Care Center affirmed that nursery-school-age children are eager to do their part. As the skies opened up, young children called out to cars in the business park: “Lemonade for sale”! In one and a half hour’s time, they raised $103 to contribute to the effort.

The kid’s energy may have made me tired, but the feeling didn’t last long. Coffee gave me a caffeine kick and a whole lot more. The Freaky Bean in the Willowdale Place – a new business open only a week at the time of my visit, not only sponsored, but created a fun game. Visit this new coffee shop, and make a 25 cent guess at how many Freaky Beans are in that jar – lucky winners who come closest to guessing the correct amount will win prizes provided by Freaky Bean, Sudzie Auto Wash, and Northern Chi. The winner will be announced at SummerFest Aug. 19.

Each summer I feel blessed to witness a very generous business community firsthand. Key corner and edge pieces, so to speak, provide the solid framework for this fundraising effort each year. Please note and patronize these listed businesses in the upcoming Project G.R.A.C.E. advertising, most graciously provided by the Current.

I love the name – Project G.R.A.C.E. – for two reasons. First, the acronym, Granting Resources and Assistance through Community Effort is a powerful witness to how generous our community is. Second, to experience grace is to know no greater love. Like a puzzle, an acronym is a mystery to figure out. To discover that the outcome is ultimate love tells me that this puzzle is worth putting together. And, yes, it requires hard work and sacrifice on our part. It’s a big puzzle – but somehow all the pieces can fall into place – that is, of course, provided that we can find all the pieces! To the many who have already come forward to help in a variety of ways, thanks for your help! If you’d like to volunteer, or are interested in learning more about sponsorships please go to www.projectgracemaine.org, or call 883-5111.