Stained Glass Windows

I've been thinking a lot about broken glass lately. I may save a lot of broken things, certain I can fix them or find a use for them someday, but broken glass isn't one of them. Once it is broken, you pretty much can't use it anymore. Things seem pretty final.

But, have you ever looked at a stained glass window? It really is nothing but a pile of broken glass held together by a bead of melted lead, called lead came. (OK, I'm not really that smart. I just googled it...) When it is all arranged though, there is nothing more beautiful than the sun streaming through a stained glass window, splashing its translucent richness like a baptism of color. To a stained glass artist, a pile of broken glass is like a box of treasure, waiting to take on the shape of whatever he desires.

There is a song that is getting knocked around a little bit...Better Than a Hallelujah. It speaks of brokenness and hurt being better than a pretty song. It is a song that makes me thing of stained glass windows. When we cry out to God in our broken state, He sees the beauty that can result. He knows that when we come to Him with nothing left, He fills in our gaps and broken places, allowing His light to shine through...we become His rainbow. His promise of faithfulness to never abandon us. He looks at us, when the rest of the world sees a pile of broken glass, something with no redeeming qualities, and pours His redemption into us, fashioning us into something exquisite and beautiful. We become His treasure box to design as He pleases.

I know that for me, I feel closest to God not when I am singing His praises, but when, in my broken state, when I just can't take another minute of another day, and I cry out to Him. He smooths my jagged edges, fills me up and holds me together, and shines His light through me. You may see me singing the Hallelujah song, but I know that without Him I would just be a pile of broken glass. With Him, I get to be a stained glass window, most beautiful when the Son is shining through me.