Reason #30
I sat in church today surrounded by stained glass windows and was reminded of the detail and artistry that each window is composed of. The pastor used a stained glass window as an illustration to make his point, and I began thinking of it in terms of my own life.
Stained glass windows are beautiful and valuable. They are solid, durable, and are usually found in sacred places. Stained glass windows often tell a story. These are not ordinary windows, no, these windows are specifically designed and crafted for a special place and a special purpose. They are also strategically put together, with each little piece having a designated place in order to create the design of the window.
Stained glass windows are composed of tiny little pieces of broken glass. I suppose the beginnings of a stained glass window looks a little confusing and overwhelming. Who would imagine that a beautiful masterpiece could be made from broken scraps of glass? The small pieces of glass look worthless. They seem insignificant and of little value, however, when the time is taken to put the pieces together, a transformation begins.
I started thinking of myself as a stained glass window. You see, I'm a work in progress. I look at my pile of broken glass and have a hard time believing that I'll become one of those beautiful, admirable windows. I wonder how all of these little pieces will fit together. As I looked at the windows around the church sanctuary, I began to realize that these beautiful windows were put together piece by piece. They, too, started out in the same state I am in. Over time, each broken piece was put into place and eventually the window was whole and complete. No one looks at a stained glass window and says, "Hey, look at all those broken pieces." Rather they look at the window as a whole and see beauty that came from brokenness. Each little piece of glass is needed to create the masterpiece of the stained glass window because each piece is just the right color and shape for the desired outcome.
I really feel like a pile of glass most days. I wonder how or if these little pieces will create anything valuable and beautiful. I'm so thankful that I can go ahead and bring all my little colored shapes of glass to God and he'll start piecing them into a masterpiece. He knows where each piece needs to go in order to get the desired outcome. He knows how each one will fit in place and doesn't stare at the pile wondering where to begin. Some pieces I like more than others and some I'd like to discard, but he is even using those to complete my design. I rest in knowing that he's crafting me for a special place and purpose. I don't know where he plans on putting me, but I trust his design skills. Sometimes I would like to argue about the placing of the pieces. Plenty are the days that I grow impatient waiting for him to complete me, but I realize that it's worth the wait. Why settle for being a storm window when I can be crafted into a stained glass window?
So I'm going to try to be patient as he picks through my pile of glass pieces and decides where to put each one. I look forward to seeing how these little pieces come together to tell a story, and my prayer is that when all is said and done, people will look at me and see the beauty he created from brokenness.
Reason #30 - Because he knows where all the pieces go.
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." - 1 Corinthians 13:12
Stained glass windows are beautiful and valuable. They are solid, durable, and are usually found in sacred places. Stained glass windows often tell a story. These are not ordinary windows, no, these windows are specifically designed and crafted for a special place and a special purpose. They are also strategically put together, with each little piece having a designated place in order to create the design of the window.
Stained glass windows are composed of tiny little pieces of broken glass. I suppose the beginnings of a stained glass window looks a little confusing and overwhelming. Who would imagine that a beautiful masterpiece could be made from broken scraps of glass? The small pieces of glass look worthless. They seem insignificant and of little value, however, when the time is taken to put the pieces together, a transformation begins.
I started thinking of myself as a stained glass window. You see, I'm a work in progress. I look at my pile of broken glass and have a hard time believing that I'll become one of those beautiful, admirable windows. I wonder how all of these little pieces will fit together. As I looked at the windows around the church sanctuary, I began to realize that these beautiful windows were put together piece by piece. They, too, started out in the same state I am in. Over time, each broken piece was put into place and eventually the window was whole and complete. No one looks at a stained glass window and says, "Hey, look at all those broken pieces." Rather they look at the window as a whole and see beauty that came from brokenness. Each little piece of glass is needed to create the masterpiece of the stained glass window because each piece is just the right color and shape for the desired outcome.
I really feel like a pile of glass most days. I wonder how or if these little pieces will create anything valuable and beautiful. I'm so thankful that I can go ahead and bring all my little colored shapes of glass to God and he'll start piecing them into a masterpiece. He knows where each piece needs to go in order to get the desired outcome. He knows how each one will fit in place and doesn't stare at the pile wondering where to begin. Some pieces I like more than others and some I'd like to discard, but he is even using those to complete my design. I rest in knowing that he's crafting me for a special place and purpose. I don't know where he plans on putting me, but I trust his design skills. Sometimes I would like to argue about the placing of the pieces. Plenty are the days that I grow impatient waiting for him to complete me, but I realize that it's worth the wait. Why settle for being a storm window when I can be crafted into a stained glass window?
So I'm going to try to be patient as he picks through my pile of glass pieces and decides where to put each one. I look forward to seeing how these little pieces come together to tell a story, and my prayer is that when all is said and done, people will look at me and see the beauty he created from brokenness.
Reason #30 - Because he knows where all the pieces go.
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." - 1 Corinthians 13:12