Stained glass windows have always been interesting to me. I love seeing the different colors and how the light shines through, making those colors even more vibrant. In churches, especially, I like to see how the windows portray the scriptures to the people. Although I may have looked at a particular image a hundred times I find that sometimes it may strike me a different way or help me enter into the story in a deeper way. At one church I attend there are a few stained glass windows which include the prayer of “Hail Mary.” I’ve said the prayer a million times, probably have stared at the windows a hundred times, yet one day the line, “The Lord is with you…” came to mean so much more as I sat there feeling anxiety and came to understand that the Lord may actually be with me, too. I know it was part of Mary’s prayer, but it just seemed to show me a different way of looking at things.

Another thing that draws me to stained glass windows is to see how intricate they are. Someone had to plan and design and create each window with all of its multiple pieces to put together a picture for the world to see. Just like God is creating each of us, with our own stories, as a type of story mosaic.

I wonder what each of us would look like as a stained glass window. Take a look at the pieces in your life, like your family, your experiences, your hopes and dreams. What color would each piece be? Would you have a collection of colors in your stained glass or would there be a specific picture in the center? Grab some markers and a piece of paper and design away! Feel free to share your creation!