STAINED GLASS

By Sam Rivers Jones

Have you ever wondered how stained glass windows are made? I literally didn’t know anything about this until a few days ago. It’s truly such a wild process. The artist will select pieces of glass, will create a layout, then trace out the design, cut any straight lines while applying pressure (the artist will also use oil to help cut the glass), then gently use a cutter to begin cutting in the curves of the design, and grind any rough edges. And then, after all of this, the artist will arrange the fragments, solder all of it together, and will frame it in.

Crazy process, right?

Well, when I tell you that last week was a whole whirlwind, it absolutely was. Life was life-ing, and I felt my heart shatter within a moment as I stood looking at a circumstance completely out of my control.

But while I felt the angst, the worry, the questions-you know what God did? HE SHOWED UP.

He showed me the visual of a stained glass window absolutely glistening on the side of a church, and in that moment, the Holy Spirit reminded me that it is absolutely okay to feel defeated - to feel broken. It is okay to not understand. It is okay to wonder about the why. And as I looked at the fragments of my heart and the stains from the mess, He kindly whispered that He was making a window.

SHEW.

When we are in the thick of it and holding the pieces of what’s left of us, it is so easy to be consumed in our brokenness and by our circumstance.

And guess what? God welcomes brokenness. He doesn’t shun it, and He is there to lament in the ashes with us. He cares that much about His kids, and if there’s anyone that understands, it is surely Him. And while we see the stains and the mess for what it is, God sees way past that.

He sees the masterpiece. He sees the design. He sees the heart.

He sees the window - because He is the Creator. He is the Artist. He is the Author and the Finisher.

So, I don’t know where you are in this season of your life, but I want you to know that God is in this thing with you even when it doesn’t feel like it.  You may be facing financial burdens or a health diagnosis. You may be facing a difficult person or circumstance. You may be walking through loss or maybe even a divorce. No matter what though, HE IS STILL GOD AND IS STILL GOOD. And in addition to that, He feels your pain, your heartbreak, and your disappointment, and He is here saying, “Everything is going to be okay. This is not a mess – just another window.”

SAM RIVERS JONES