When the Pieces are Shattered

I was once a glass vase. We all were…like the vases in the craft section at Wal-Mart. All the vases are the same. All of them are plain and cheap: mass produced. Then Life picked up the vase that was me and threw it on the pavement. It shattered.

I have experienced every emotion, every confusion, every hurt of those shattered pieces. I’ve been angry, “God, why didn’t You protect me?” I’ve been scared of all the sharp pieces of glass. I’ve been confused: how do I put myself together again? I’ve been lost: what can I do in life if I’m not whole? I’ve been overwhelmed: there’s too many pieces. I’ve been hopeful: maybe I can fix it with super glue. I’ve tried to use the pieces to help in God’s work. I’ve also used the pieces to deepen my self-pity.

Even as I experience my questions and emotions in endless cycles, God is busy. One by one, He takes each little piece of glass and puts it in place. I question Him, “God, that isn’t where it goes…I’m not going to be a vase if you keep this up!” He continues to put pieces together. It looks odd. And it still hurts.

But eventually, there is my life…not glued with superglue and not a mass produced vase, but a unique sculpture. Each angle of glass reflects the light. The lines from the breaks create a diamond-like effect. No one else’s sculpture looks like mine. And it is beautiful.


Do we have to be shattered in order to be like Him? Does it take a lifetime to put us together? How much are we worth to God as a Wal-Mart vase? Who shatters the vase: the world? Satan? God? Myself? What can I do to serve God when I can't see the sculpture yet?

And, no, I'm not having a pity party. I saw an illustration of this in a movie the other night...and it was so cool and thought provoking that I just had to write about it.