“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Matthew 4:16 
 
I read a story this week about stained glass. I hope you enjoy this:

During World War II, our bombers wreaked havoc over Europe, to help bring an end to the war. In a small village near an industrial plant, one of our bombs fell off-course and destroyed the village cathedral. After the war, the people of the village gathered any items that they had of any value and gave them to the pastor to sell in order to buy materials to rebuild their place of worship. After the plans were completed and the townspeople had given to the pastor everything but the bare necessities that they needed to live on, a contractor was hired to rebuild the cathedral.

The contractor was given a strict time frame in which to complete the building. He had no trouble finding brick masons, stonecutters, carpenters and other craftsmen to work on the project. However, he needed three stained glass artisans to complete the project on time, but could only find two in postwar Europe. One day a disheveled-looking little man came to the contractor and said he was a stained-glass artisan and had heard the contractor needed a third worker. The contractor scoffed at the little man with tattered clothes, unkempt hair and a rough face covered with stubble of a beard: “You? You are a stained-glass artisan?” “Yes,” replied the little man with a smile. “Not only that, I will work for three meals a day and a place to sleep at night. When my window is finished, and if you and the townspeople approve of it, then pay me the same rate of pay that you are paying the other two artisans.” The contractor felt like he could not lose, and he agreed to the man’s requests. As the little man was leaving, he asked for one more item. “Could you put a curtain around the window where I will be working? I don’t like people watching me work.” “Sure, okay,” replied the contractor. He asked the man’s name, but the man said his name was not important.

Months went by, and the building rose from the ashes. Every morning the little man would speak to the other two stained glass men and then quietly go behind his curtain to work. Finally, the day came for the townspeople to inspect their new cathedral. The contractor showed off the fine woodwork, the precision-cut stones, the glistening marble and then moved over to the first two stained glass windows. A quiet hush fell over the building as they approached the curtain covering the third window. All they heard was the tapping of a hammer. The contractor barked out, “Are you finished yet?” The little man tapped his hammer one last time and said, “Sure, take the curtain down!”

There before the people was the most magnificent, most wonderful, most elegant and most beautiful stained-glass window anyone had ever seen. Tears welled up in their eyes as they admired the craftsmanship and the pure beauty of the glass used to make the window. The contractor was relieved to see the astonishing work. The contractor asked him if he could tell them where he got the glass to make the window. It was far superior to all the glass in the other two windows. “Sure,” replied the little man. “Every morning as I talked to the other two workers, I would reach down into their trash barrels and take out the broken, unwanted pieces of glass. I used those discarded pieces to make my window.”

     Sometimes…we feel unwanted. Discarded. Ready for the trash pile. And the Master takes our brokenness and makes it something beautiful! Maybe someone reading this today needs to hear that. You are NOT worthless! There is beauty and usefulness in you! Elisabeth Kubler-Ross once wrote, “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

      We at Central Christian were gifted with a beautiful stained-glass window from our own Pat Fleming! She has been making this for our new Welcome Center and it arrived this week! It will be hung in the big window over the 2 entry-ways and will shine light in as the sun breaks through! I pray that each week when we see it, we remember that God has the opportunity to shine THROUGH us! May OUR true beauty be revealed from His Light within us!  Thank you, Pat for this blessing!!