The Window Pane

Recently I heard a woman say something terribly sad.  She said, “all men are worthless.”   She had been hurt deeply by several men in her life, but she spoke with such bitterness, condemning all men.

This post isn’t meant to belittle the hurt that anyone has suffered at the hand of another person, but I feel such sorrow for this woman, because she is not seeing beyond her pain.  And in not seeing beyond, she’s not allowing herself to experience blessings that are waiting for her, just behind the stormy clouds.

Memories

The snow was settling on the branches
of the pines, there’s was little hint of
sunshine on the trees across the drive. 
It was a beautiful winter wonderland.  

But there was a smudge on the window, and that was bothering me.  If, when I looked out that window, my eyes were glued to the dirty smear on the inside of the glass, I would never have been able to see the beauty painted on my window that morning.  There was something incredible out there to see.

There are many lessons to learn about the places that our focus can take us.  If we look at a rose and worry about the prickly thorns, we’ll never be able get close enough to smell the beautiful fragrance.  If we are afraid of getting our feet wet, we’ll never be able to enjoy splashing in the puddles.  So many ifs, aren’t there?

I believe many of us have had to handle things in our lives that were terribly difficult and painful.  It’s like picking up a rose and getting pricked with its thorns?  We aren’t prepared for it.  Life is sometimes like that.  Many times even the most worthwhile endeavors end up hurting us.  

Looking beyond the spotted glass, looking beyond the stop sign, looking beyond the pain and hurt, beyond the struggle, all these things are still worthwhile “if we look beyond.”  If we look beyond the windowpane, maybe we’ll see a beautiful picture that God has painted beyond the clouds, beyond the storm.

Look beyond the window glass.

Yes, look beyond the pane.

Look beyond perfection’s loss

while standing in the rain.

Look beyond the prickly thorn and smell the yellow rose.
If we look beyond,

and trust God’s heart

We’ll see roses in the snow.

My friends, maybe we could all try to look beyond our past and our pain.  With God’s help, I believe it will be worth the try.

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT) Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Jesus told his disciples just before He ascended into heaven.  Matt 28:20 (KJV) lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Diane