Forward

Stained glass windows have always amazed me. The craft itself is a study in patience requiring enormous amounts of time spent creating a pattern and bringing it to life. It takes countless hours to cut, grind and shape the colored glass into forms that will fit together seamlessly. Copper foil and lead are the cement binding these pieces into something that is not merely colored bits of glass but a mosaic from the soul of the artisan. The heat from the fire of the soldering iron melts the lead and forms a strong bond that holds the multicolored jigsaw together. Like a patchwork quilt, each piece represents something that is an integral part of the whole. There are remembrances attached to each type of glass.....some beveled, some frosted.....others plain and yet others quite ornate.

Our lives are much like that for those who are fortunate enough to have experienced the grace that accompanies a journey of faith. There are peaks and valleys. The way is never quite clear, it seems. The road always yields a fork or a decision or some drama that seems insurmountable yet essential to our character. Often, it is only in retrospect that we can see with clarity that all of the pieces have been fused into something solid and beautiful and everlasting that can be passed on as a covenant from one generation to the next.

Days of boredom and simplicity that seem dull and lifeless are equally as valuable to the creation as are those fine peaks during which we reflect God's light like a bevel. Beauty and triumph are shallow without loss and grief as a comparative companion. Appreciation of small joys becomes paramount to keepint the faith that allows continuation of the journey. A journey which, each in our own way, we share with the rest of the people in our lives as we absorb some of their light or darkness....learn from it....and pass it on to the next pilgrim in a slightly different shape or hue.

The venue is different for each of us, but the focus remains constant.

Keep the faith. ^j^