Skip to main content

Word Picture


Yesterday was a tough day.  It was just kind of a zillion things snowballed into one big bad day.  On the surface it seemed fine and we had fun as a family, but on the inside, I felt like I was dying. . .one big snowball of hurting emotions. 

I survived, though.  I got the kids to bed and then I sat down and had a talk with God.  Why?  Why do I feel like I was once a beautiful vase and through a series of events that I have been dealing with this year, I feel like I was smashed on the floor.  I feel like I am just shards of the vase I used to be and I just cried out to God that I didn't know how I would ever be whole again. 

And then He gave me this picture (it was prettier in my mind, but this is the best I could find with Google Images).  He gave me the picture of a beautiful stained glass vase.  I used to be a beautiful vase and yes, I have been shattered, but He gave me the hope of one day being a completely different looking, but beautiful vase that would once again hold water and be used to hold flowers.  And one day, when all of my pieces are finally put together by the Master, Himself, I will be even more beautiful than I once was.  I'll reflect His light brilliantly and although I won't look the same, I will be a useful vase once more.

Maybe silly.  For me, it was eye opening and it was just the little bit of encouragement I needed.

Comments

erin thomas said…
tears! thank you for sharing j-jo. you are absolutely beautiful, but i know we all go through times when we feel so ugly and broken. thank you for your word picture. i have been struggling with lots of yucky events and emotions the past few months, but this word picture is so helpful for me. praise God that we are His and that He knows what He is doing even when it doesn't make sense to us :)
Katharine A. said…
I so know this feeling. Thank you for always being real! Hope to see you soon!

Popular posts from this blog

The Grief of a Stepmom

The grief of a stepmom.  This post has had so many titles:  The Invisible Grief of a Stepmom, The Silent Grief of a Stepmom, The Lonely Grief of a Stepmom. . . the grief of a stepmom is like no other grief because it feels so homeless. My stepson died a few weeks ago.   Marc and I have only been married eight months and Mackay, my stepson, lived in NYC and we rarely got to see him (he didn't get to come to the wedding or Cabo and didn't stay with us when he came to town), so I didn't have much of a relationship with him.  So there is a weird layer of loosing someone I hardly knew and I feel like that is the layer that makes the most sense to everyone.   While the family was mourning, I was the one organizing all of the meals coming in from our wonderful friends and neighbors, I was cleaning up one meal and setting up for the next.  I was keeping the house in order and making sure Marc was able to surround himself with the friends and family he needed to make it through the

Should've Said No. . . ?

Andy proposed during a curtain call of Me and My Girl , a musical in which he played an old man who went most of his life without telling the woman he loved that he loved her... Twenty-three years ago today Andy asked me to marry him. . . .  he was my best friend and I thought he was the love of my life.  Should I have said no? I don't know how many times I have now been asked a version of that question in the past couple of years and I cannot count the number of times I have asked myself that question over the past decade, but it is a dumb question with no great answer. If I would have said no 23 years ago, I would have saved myself from so many tears and so much pain, but I would have missed so much laughter and so many exciting firsts and I would be such a different person. . . . Because of this day, 23 years ago, I am who I am and I have so much to be thankful for. Because of this day, 23 years ago, I have five of the best kids on the planet.  They are t

Mother's Day Thoughts

I've been feeling so many Mother's Day feels this weekend.  For starters, my big kids came home to surprise me and that was the most wonderful thing!  I remember Mother's Day 2017 when I cried because Hays was a Senior in high school and heading to Texas A&M and I thought it would be my last Mother's Day with my five all together. . . . and yesterday proved those tears unnecessary!  And then, as if that wasn't more than I could ever wish for, Marc spoiled me like I have never been spoiled before.  I am consistently blown away and humbled by how much he appreciates me and shows me his appreciation with words, gifts, acts of service and more.  I am so grateful for this husband of mine and the way he loves me and shows our kids what selfless love is supposed to look like! But even before yesterday, I've been thinking a lot about all of the different dimensions of motherhood I now experience and it is shaping me into a new and stronger and more compassionate and