Kaleidoscope

Good morning,

                I have a kaleidoscope on my desk. Have you ever used one? Kaleidoscopes are quite fascinating, though I don’t know that they have all that much of a purpose. Using light, mirrors, and (usually) bits of colorful, broken objects put together in a viewing case, you can enjoy many random, bright colorful combinations which are geometrical and quite beautiful. A description on Wikipedia reads…

“A kaleidoscope is a cylinder with mirrors containing loose, colored objects such as beads or pebbles and bits of glass. As the viewer looks into one end, light entering the other creates a colorful pattern, due to the reflection off of the mirrors. Coined in 1817 by Scottish inventorSir David Brewster, "kaleidoscope" is derived from the Ancient Greek καλός (kalos), "beautiful, beauty", εἶδος (eidos), "that which is seen: form, shape" and σκοπέω (skopeō), "to look to, to examine", hence "observer of beautiful forms.”

                When I think of my kaleidoscope I remember Diane Muise, a Gospel musician from my hometown of Auburn. Diane was a singer who loved the Lord and sought to glorify Him with a ministry of music in Maine and beyond. She was supported by her husband and was a visitor to many churches, including ours, until her death in 2008. The reason I think of Diane is a song that she wrote about broken pieces of glass called “Stained Glass Window”. Though it was not a theme she originated, the song described how God takes the broken pieces of our lives and puts them together into something with beauty and meaning.

                Why do I keep my kaleidoscope? Because it gives me pleasure… because there is beauty to be found when I look through the lens. And because it reminds me that my brokenness has a purpose in God’s scheme of glory. When we are broken, or experiencing trouble, we don’t typically feel very valuable or useful. The things we go through often don’t make sense to us. But God’s Word reminds of His ability to use such things for our good and His honor. As Rick Warren has put it: “God never wastes a hurt.”

                Praise God for His “artistry” in our lives and for the hope we have in Christ and that our God “does all things well.

Psalm 139:13-14 - ¹³For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Romans 8:28 - ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 61:1-3 - The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance^(J) of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

PRAYER: “Father, may the brokenness in my life – be it great or small – be for the display of Your splendor. Please transform me, so that ugly things become beautiful in Your hands, that sharp, rough things become smooth by Your work in me, and that broken emotions are healed. You excel in this and all that You do magnifies Your glory. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”