On a business trip to Montreal a few years ago I did a walking tour of the Old Town historical sites. The most impressive to me was the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal. Upon entry, I was at once captured by the beauty of the Gothic Revival architecture, especially the beautiful stained glass murals depicting scenes from the religious history of Montreal.
I have always been amazed by the talent and love that must go in to the making of Holy art, and especially in the form of stained glass. I can only imagine the hours of painstaking effort, the forethought, and the planning of the artisan to get things just right because he knew it would inspire the faithful for centuries to come. Yet, with all of the beauty that may come from the hand of man, it is but a poor reflection of the magnificent splendor that the Hand of God manifests in the lives of those who aspire to live for Him.
So in choosing a title for this book, I wanted to use the stained glass analogy to represent the beautiful, and the not so beautiful, stains that we, God’s children, create as we live out our lives together under the stained glass.
What follows is a series of short stories from my years of service to God and others in full time Christian ministry. Some of the stories are humorous, some sad and some tragic, but all are true to the best of my memory. Also, they are written solely from my perspective as a pastor and a fallible human being. They are not meant to bring any personal glory to myself but only to God, for He is the one who brings people together for His good purpose. Where names are used, they are fictional. Also, I will refrain from using times and places to avoid any possible embarrassment to those of whom these accounts are written.
My prayer is that you will receive a blessing from God, along with a few laughs, and maybe a few tears, as you read the stories of these lives who were only seeking to further understand who God truly is. In the seeking, many of them came to know just how much He dearly loves us, in the moments of our greatest accomplishments, and even our greatest failures.
God Bless,