Brokenness

There is a window in your heart through which you can see God. Once upon a time that window was clear. Your view of God was crisp. You could see God as vividly as you could see a gentle valley or hillside. The glass was clear, the pane unbroken.
Then, suddenly the window cracked. A pebble broke the window. A pebble of pain.
Perhaps the stone struck when you were a child and a parent left home - forever. Maybe the rock hit in adolescence when your heart was broken. Maybe you made it into adulthood before the window was cracked. But then the pebble came.
Whatever the pebble's form, the result was the same - a shattered window. The pebble missiled into the pane and shattered it. The crash echoed down the halls of your heart... and suddenly God was not so easy to see. The view that had been so crisp had changed. You turned to see God, and his figure was distorted. It was hard to see him through the pain. It was hard to see him through the fragments of your hurt.
You were puzzled. God wouldn't allow something like this to happen, would he? Tragedy and travesty weren't on the agenda of the One you had seen, were they? Had you been fooled? Had you been blind?
The moment the pebble struck, the glass became a reference point for you. From then on, there was life before the pain and life after the pain. Before your pain, the view was clear; God seemed so near. After the pain, well, he was harder to see. He seemed a bit distant... harder to perceive. Your pain distorted the view - not eclipsed it, but distorted it.

Never lose sight of the real God standing before you. No matter what pain life brings you, God is still visible through the shattered remains of your heart. Remember that broken glass can be fixed, but it will only get fixed if you still want to look through it. Rejoice, for God is the greatest repairer of all, and he will send his son Jesus to replace the glass. So you can gaze upon the splendor that is God's work.