O God, we have heard it with our own ears— our ancestors have told us of all you did in their day, in days long ago

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭44:1‬, NLT‬‬

Thanksgiving. A time to remember what God has done. A time to tell our children of God’s faithfulness in our lives. A time to give thanks.

At a recent retreat, a beautiful friend talked about the broken areas in our lives, those places where we made mistakes or where bad or unexpected things happened to us. Sometimes we find it difficult to be thankful for those kinds of things. How can they possibly be good?

But our God promises to use all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

My friend illustrated her message with glass. When a glass bottle is whole, it reflects some light. But when the glass is broken into many pieces, it reflects more light than it did before, a sparkling, brilliant display.

In the same way, our God can take our messes, our pain, and the brokeness in our lives and turn them into a sparkling, brilliant display of His glory. He gives us beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3) and gives back what was lost to the enemy (Joel 2:25).

My friend also talked about how glass is made, from sand and heat. When heat is applied to the sand, the sand melts and is transformed into a different substance that, when cooled, becomes transparent, usable and lovely.

Broken pieces of glass reflect more light

Isn’t that like our God, to take us, whom he formed from the dust of the earth, (1 Corinthians 15:47a) and allow the trials and struggles of this life change us into something even more beautiful and precious (1 Peter 1:7).

When you look back over your life, can you see the places where God uses the broken pieces to allow you to reflect more of His light for others to see (Ephesians 5:8)?

Prayer 
Heavenly Father, during this season of thanksgiving, let us shine with brilliance and  transparency, giving You thanks in all things and telling others what You have done.

Thank you Christina Gallegos for sharing your beautiful story and, like glass, being so transparent. Christina has written a beautiful story about never giving up and having the resolve needed to push through obstacles!  Find her story here: The Tree Stands Firm

Grace & Peace