A Little Something to Contemplate

This is an entry from Joni Eareckson Tada's book Diamonds in the Dust. It's a daily devotional type thing (chock full of good stuff, I might add) and this was the topic and discussion on May 8 that really got me thinking.

Shattered Glass
"Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." - John 12:36
My art studio is a mess of half-chewed pastel pencils, old tubes of paint, and piles of illustrations overflowing my file drawers. Recently while cleaning up, I discovered some broken glass on the counter by the window. I also discovered that when the sunlight struck the shattered glass, brilliant, colorful rays scattered everywhere. 
Shattered glass is full of a thousand different angles, each one picking up a ray of light and shooting it off in a thousand directions. That doesn't happen with plain glass, such as a jar. The glass must be broken into many pieces. 
What's true of shattered glass is true of a broken life. Shattered dreams. A heart full of fissures. Hopes that are splintered. A life in pieces that appears to be ruined. But given time and prayer, such a person's life can shine more brightly than if the brokenness had never happened. When the light of the Lord Jesus falls upon a shattered life, that believer's hopes can be brightened. 
It's the nature of things that catch the light: The color and dazzle of light sparkles best through things that are shattered. 
Only our great God can reach down into what otherwise would be brokenness and produce something beautiful. With Him, nothing is wasted. Every broken dream and heart that hurts can be redeemed by His loving, warm touch. Your life may be shattered by sorrow, pain, or sin, but God has in mind a kaleidoscope through which His light can shine more brilliantly. 

(This is not my work; I don't claim it to be. Everything was written by Mrs. Tada. I couldn't even have written it if I wanted to, since I don't have an art studio and I can't draw)

'Till next time
-- Jamie