It seems I've always been drawn to glass: just look around my house at the various items I've collected over a lifetime. And think about the endless colors, textures, and uses of this exquisite material. It reminds me of the various colors, shapes, and purposes God gives his ultimate creation: humankind.
I once wrote a poem that began "My heart is made of glass." I was feeling pretty vulnerable at the time, like fragile material that could shatter with a breath. Sometimes I still feel like that-- who doesn't, honestly? BUT, did you know that glass is actually very strong under pressure? Called compressive strength, glass can typically handle 100,000-130,000 psi (pounds per square inch), and its tensile strength (how much pulling or bending it will take before breaking), though not as high, is still a remarkable 6,500 psi. [SOURCE: www.guardianglass.com] But first the raw material must be heated in an oven between 2700-2900 degrees Fahrenheit. (Think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! Would we remember them aside from their Fiery Furnace experience?) This quote really caught my attention: "The transformation (annealing) range is when glass begins to soften, and internal stresses are relieved. The softening point is when glass becomes malleable enough to deform or be shaped." It's a continual process of heating, cooling, and bending at just the right temperature to conform the item to its intended purpose. Who knew something we use daily and mostly take for granted was so complicated? I've always thought it was simply a matter of melting sand, blowing it into shape, and letting it cool.
Perhaps, then, my "heart of glass" was not such a bad metaphor. Where is the seat of who we are? Our hearts, of course! In fact, in Hebrew (in the Bible) the word for "heart" (lev) comprises the mind as well as the seat of our emotions, in other words our whole being. In order to become the vessel God intended us to be and to fulfill His purpose for us, then, we must first undergo the Expert Glassmaker's slow but deliberate process of melting, shaping, coloring, pressure, cooling, and even decorating. Only then are we ready to hold His goodness and ultimately pour it out for others to enjoy to the glory of the Artist. We may not be able to see or understand the design and purpose; our job is not to understand, but simply to serve.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. [Romans 5:1-5 ESV]
But does a glass or a bowl, or even a work of art question its usefulness? Of course not! It endures the heating and cooling, bending and shaping processes as long as required for its purpose, and then it waits to serve. How much more, then, should I be willing to endure the "annealing" if you will, then to sit and wait to serve, until God picks me up to use me as He has intended from the beginning?
"For You formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made....
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them."
[Psalm 139:13-16 ESV]
PRAY WITH ME: Dear Lord, please give us patience in Your process of shaping us for the purpose You have intended for us from before we were born. In the precious name of Jesus, our Savior, Amen.
"Mold me and make me
after Thy will,
While I am waiting
Yielded and still."
['Have Thine Own Way, Lord" by Adelaide Pollard]
✝️
"He must increase and I must decrease."
John 3:30
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