Crackle Glass

One of the joys in my life is crackle glass. As a tactile person, I love to touch and hold items, relishing the different textures and what they represent to my fingertips. It is nearly impossible for me to pass by a crackle glass item and not pick it up; cup my hands around it and get lost in the beauty of it. Thousands of light shards dance across and through its surface, smiling back at me. Every piece is unique, and each tells its own story.

Yet, surprisingly all the beauty, depth and light comes about because the piece is flawed. Over heated, too quickly cooled. It is a mistake that somehow turns out beautiful. It doesn't matter the color, the style or what it serves - each one calls out to be picked up, held, loved and enjoyed.

We are, each of us, like that. Beauty from ashes. Flawed, yet beautiful. Each will serve a different purpose. Each will be placed in different circumstances. For every person who sees us and fails to understand the depth and beauty of us, there will be a hundred who draw in their breath in awe.

One such person is Jesus Christ. He loves us in our flawed beauty, because he knows we have come through the fire more beautiful, more bright, more sparkling than before. God has a plan for us all, knowing we will be beautifully flawed by events in our life. Yet, He arranged it so we could still let our beauty rise and shine!

I raise my crackled glass to you today, in honor of who you are. Let your light shine through your history and shed love on those you meet.