Putting the Pieces Together

There's a stage of every stained glass panel that looks like this. The cutting is all done. The pieces are laid out so that I can find them. The zinc is cut and placed on the lead board.

Now it's time to put the puzzle back together. The pieces all have their place, and it's my job to rebuild the picture.

Sometimes, at this stage, I am overwhelmed. Especially on glass panels that have this many pieces. Especially when the pieces are this long and skinny!

A few days ago, when Sycamore was at this stage, I stopped to pray. I asked God to bless my hands, so that I could make something beautiful that glorifies Him.  And I realized that God is the ultimate at putting the pieces back together!

We mess up our lives repeatedly. We break relationships. We choose destructive paths. The sins of self-reliance and arrogance lead us astray.

And repeatedly, God reaches out to us and picks up the broken pieces of our lives... and puts them back together again. With Love. With Grace.

And God rebuilds our lives into things of beauty which glorify Him above all. I can never be worthy of His Grace... but I pray that He will use me to do His work here and now.

Sycamore will be complete within a week. I will post a final picture and pricing information. It might make a perfect Christmas present for someone you love!