I didn’t mean for it to happen. It was guarded so well, hidden and locked away yet somehow it was stolen. Hope filled me when it turned up again but as I reached out to reclaim it there was a dawning realization that it was broken and would never be the same.
Head held low and with tears I carried the fragile remains. Anger, questions and fears poured forth as swiftly as the salty drops from my eyes.
Gentle hands before me beckoned for the pieces I now carried, removing them from my grip with promise of return.
“Will it ever be beautiful again?” I mused.
“In gentleness and love He replied, “It will bear the marks of brokenness forever, but I will make it a masterpiece.”
Feigning confidence I watched. With patient lovingkindness He reformed my broken heart, arranging the pieces skillfully within the framework of His love. Pulling out a pallet of dull colors He painted with swift, accurate strokes. Then He mixed together faith, hope and love to create the grout needed to hold it all together.
Time passed in the blink of an eye in His presence but also seemed to slow to a snail’s pace. He looked up at me with a faint smile.
“It’s almost complete. However, there is one more thing. It is necessary but it will be painful.” He paused. “Will you let me finish what was started?”
Forcing down the anxiousness that suddenly rose in my throat I silently nodded yes. He gently touched my shoulder and then placed my newly formed heart in a kiln. Instinctively I winced at what I now knew was to come. Reaching for the dial and glancing over at me, He turned the heat on high.
The pain I felt in my heart was excruciating and I leaned on Him for support until the fire was removed. It seemed the world stopped and I feared the worst.
When it had sufficiently cooled, He reached down into the kiln. What He brought forth was so beautiful, so amazing that I didn’t recognize it. The dull colors now vibrant from the fire’s heat told of joy and sorrow, pain and beauty.
As He held it to the light a rainbow formed on the floor, a constant reminder of His faithfulness. Then He reached over and placed in me this stained glass mosaic heart. Now as the light shines through others will see His glory, His beauty and His love.
Will you let God have your broken pieces to create a masterpiece?
