Stained Glass

I have always thought stained glass windows are so and beautiful and interesting, even when I was a child. My mom has a very old stained glass window hanging in her living room that was an original window from her grandfather’s home which she visited when she was a little girl. I was so happy when Momma was able to salvage it for herself and I have enjoyed her enjoying it. I have looked at that window suspended over the counter from the ceiling so many times throughout my life and wondered about the stories it could tell. I can just imagine how pretty it would be if the sun got the chance do dance upon its surface again. However, as many times as I have admired it, there have been many more times that I didn’t appreciate its beauty. Stained glass windows are often go unnoticed until the light hits them because without the light, some of the colors seem dark and boring, but my how beautiful they are when the sunlight dances through the panes and all of the intricate details of the design can be seen. The radiance almost draws you to the window. My friend, Leslie, and I went into an old church downtown last spring while practicing our picture taking skills. The groundskeeper saw us taking pictures of the exterior architecture and told us to feel free to go on inside. When we went into that old sanctuary, the stained glass windows were breathtaking to me. It was almost as if I could hear the heavens rejoicing as the light penetrated the glass.


Just as no two stained glass windows are exactly the same, none of us is the same. Each window is made up of different sized panels and colors, and the things that each of us experience in our life color us and shape us differently. Without light shining through all of the different parts of the window, the details can easily go unappreciated or unnoticed and sometimes, as people, it’s easy to feel that way too. We may see the things that we have done or that have happened to us as stains on the glass of our lives, but he uses the things we see as stains, to make something remarkable.

My life and yours are both patterned so uniquely by our God into a beautiful and intricate design. All I have to do is my position myself so that His light can dance upon me and through me. His light brings brilliance to the colors of my life and reflects in all directions. He can even use His light to break through panels from my life that in my opinion would represent a dark color and reveal a beautiful color to others.

Oh, God, my Master Crafter, thank you for designing me as your own. I pray, Father, that I would allow enough of your light to shine through my life’s experiences to draw others to my window to see what your light can do and the beauty it can create. I pray that others will see what your light can do for them and how you can use their trials and experiences to craft something so beautiful when exposed to your light. Lord bless me with the desire to let you shine your light into parts of my life that haven’t yet experienced your creative work. I thank you for the warmth that your light brings to my soul. It wraps my heart like warm blanket on a cold day and I love that about You.

“Arise, shine; for your light has come,

And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you

For behold, darkness will cover the earth,

And deep darkness the peoples;

But the Lord will rise upon you,

And His glory will appear upon you.

And nations will come to your light,

And kings to the brightness of your rising."

Isaiah 60:1-3

Amy Dotson, RPDOTK (Royal Princess Daughter Of The King)