Broken Pieces

     They didn't think about the consequences, what 10 year old boy does? All they thought was how cool the bottles sounded as the bat smashed them and how the colors sparkled as the pieces flew. After the bottle collection, they moved on to the pottery. It wasn't until the old man walked up behind them that the thought of consequences crossed their mind, but by then it was too late. There was no escape.

     The old man didn't shout, in fact he looked completely unfazed. All he did was pick up 3 brooms. He handed each of the boys one and started sweeping with the third one. After watching him sweep silently for a minute the boys joined him. The shards were swept into a pile and then added to a bin the boys hadn't noticed before. The bin was full of broken glass and pottery, evidently they weren't the first to make sport of his bottle collection.

    When the sweeping was done the boys looked questioningly at the old man, he just motioned them to 2 stools beside a worn work table. The man grabbed an old canvas bag and drug the bin of broken glass to the table. He then started laying the pieces out on the table. At first it seemed to be at random, but before long a pattern became visible. Then it wasn't just a pattern but a picture and before long it was an entire scene. It was only then that the boys really looked around the shed. On the walls were the most magnificent tile mosaics they had ever seen, all made from the shards of broken bottles and pottery. When placed in the hands of a master artist, what appeared to be trash became an amazing work of art.

    God works in much the same way. After we make a mess of the things in our life, God calmly sweeps up the pieces and creates a masterpiece. When I look at the mistakes and missteps that I have taken in my life, I am amazed that God has been able to do anything with me. But then I look at where I am now and I see the individual shards from past experiences that have now been carefully placed to create the person that I am today. God can take the mess that you have made with your life and mold you into a masterpiece. What is just trash in your hands can become a work of art in the hands of The Master.

This song is by Shelly E. Johnson and is called Mosaic of Grace. I recommend checking out more of her stuff, she is talented.