Small Pieces, Big Picture
While traveling recently I got to see this piece of stained glass up close and personal. I even got to watch as some others like it were being made. It's a slow process that uses hundreds of small pieces to make one gigantic picture. The end result is always stunning.
No matter the size of the piece, it always has to start out with a plan. An artist cannot haphazardly begin putting pieces into a frame hoping it turns into something beautiful. There always has to be a plan at the beginning, and then they can take these hundreds of small pieces, of different colors and shapes, and use them to bring the full image. By themselves these pieces of glass might not be much, but together they are beautiful.
I'm reminded that that is the way God works in our life too. He always has a plan. God is not haphazardly responding to the circumstances in our life, trying to make something out of nothing. From the beginning of time he has had a plan for your life, and he is constantly using the small things to bring that plan to fruition. by themselves a circumstances of your life might not seem like much, but God uses them to bring about a beautiful picture. He is the great artist working with care and precision in our lives.
God can even take the ugly things like grief, pain, and sorrow, and use them to make something beautiful. He has a plan for your life and he is always working to carry that plan out. You might not be able to step back and see the full picture, but you can trust that God is working even when you can't understand. You are in the hands of a craftsman, who loves you and has a plan for your life. He is using the big and small things of your life to make something beautiful: a life that points towards him and gives him glory.