It goes like this: in other peoples' eyes, I'm not anywhere near perfect. Most would be upset over being seen anything less than the greatest thing in the world. However, over time, I've found comfort in having my imperfections seen. It's easier to grow when put into an uncomfortable situation, my flaws displayed for all to see. Some critique, others glare, and most ignore. Not everyone in the world is out to tear you down.

Look at it this way: I'm a stained-glass window.

Jagged, uneven pieces of unique, brightly colored glass are shoved into carefully planned places out to form something truly and imperfectly beautiful. A bigger picture, if you will. The pieces aren't always perfectly square or round, just like me. I have uneven eyes, only one dimple, some acne, and I'm tall and lanky. My creator, the one that put the mosaic that I am together, knows every little piece of me; which ones are too sharp, which ones need sanded down to fit where they need to go, which need polished, which are fragile, and which ones are the strongest.

In His eyes, I'm a stained-glass window. He knew me before I even knew myself; a beautiful portrait of a human being with faults and success and love and grief. In my eyes, He's the sun shining through my pieces and illuminating the masterpiece I truly am, flawed pieces and all.

"Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you..." - Jeremiah 1:5

For example, my laugh is sometimes loud and obnoxious when I truly find something funny. For a while, I saw it as a jagged, ugly piece of me that the sun never illuminated. Others saw it that way too. Now, it's one of my brightest pieces, along with my selflessness, my legs, my eye color, and the other parts of myself I'm learning to love.

We are all stained-glass windows. Some are bright, some are dim. Others are broken in different places and each varies in color and shape. We are all different and truly beautiful works of God. We're just learning to let the sun, His Son, shine through us everyday.