One day I had a man cleaning the carpets in my house. I was working in the garage with my glass and he saw the stuffed shelves. He asked if I was going to have a yard sale. I explained what I do with the glass and then took him outside to see the pieces in my yard. When I told him that I usually just give them away, he responded, “So you’re spreading the light to those around you.” I had never really thought about it that way. I guess we are.

But more important than art we create, is the imagery God gave me as I was working on some new ideas. I began thinking about how this glass making takes old discarded household items and turns them into new things. Every single completed piece is uniquely different and NEVER perfectly straight. 

In fact, one piece can throw the entire artwork off kilter because it’s crooked, lumpy, lopsided, or out of proportion. If noticed quickly, that one piece can be taken off and removed before it’s stuck forever. Once it becomes permanent, it makes the others look badly. If it is removed and studied, the obvious faults show that it was not suitable from the beginning.

That’s what happens when we rationalize our behaviors to justify our sin. A little look, a little taste, a little indulging and something ugly begins to grow. And if it’s not dealt with, permanent, costly dysfunction remains.

Some pieces as hard as I try to get them to compliment each other, just never seem to fit. All my efforts end up in frustration. On days when I am wise, I put those pieces down for another day. Other days when I force something to be that was never meant to be, I end up with something where the glue just will not set or the combination of glass is uncomplimentary.

This is what happens when I make hasty decisions and push my way forward without waiting on God. When I try to force something I want to happen, all my efforts end up leaving me feeling unfulfilled and empty.

It can be like a bad shopping trip when I’m trying to find that one shirt or the perfect pair of shoes that I’ve have been looking for, only to find that when I give up the search and stop focusing on that one thing that I actually find something better than I imagined. When I cease striving, God works the rest out. Only in a place of rest, will I let God do what He’s putting in place for me. I am amazed at what He can do when I get out of the way. Certainly, He can enact whatever He wants, whenever He wants, but how much sweeter is the reward when I submit as the Holy Spirit prompts me.

Sometimes during the formation of the piece, dishes slip and break in to a million pieces on the floor, never to be the same again. And that’s the beauty of it, we are all broken. Only God can take those cracked, chipped, and broken pieces to create something of beauty.

The best days are when pieces of glass go together like they were purposely paired. That perfect day when the individual housewares purchased all over the west coast become the missing pieces that blend together because they were sitting on a shelf waiting for the best time to be used, as if waiting for their purpose.

God can use us if we wait on Him and let Him be the one who centers us. With His love and adjustments, He makes us perfect. He completes us. And in that completion, we spread His light to others. That light that was never meant to be kept to ourselves. That light that is powered by the sun and will shine brightly until dawn. That light is Jesus. He’s the Son who shines through us so that we can share it with others.