The sound of a loud crash grabbed our attention away from the evening news. Rushing toward the commotion, we saw the remains of my glass tabletop scattered across the porch floor. There was an eerie crackling, crinkling, popping, sound coming from the thousands of pieces on the rug below. It was as if it were taking its last breath. Scary! Weird!

How could this be, we puzzled? The tabletop had been sound—fine—nothing wrong with it. We’d used it for years to share meals, play games, just sit and chat on a summer evening. What could cause it to explode?

I was thankful we had not been eating dinner on it at the time it happened. I was thankful that an unsuspecting cat or dog had not been dozing under it.

On the other hand, I was thankful that son Jeff and daughter-in-law Stephanie were visiting when it happened, for I would have faced the monumental task of cleaning up the remains by myself!

With thick tennis shoes on their feet and heavy gloves on their hands, they shooed me away and went to work sweeping everything into a pile on the carpet and then gently emptying it into a garbage can. In no time, the debris was disposed of and the evidence of the explosion carted off to the outdoor garbage can, leaving behind the empty frame as a reminder of what was a favorite gathering place.

Still, there were troubling, unanswered questions.

What would cause a perfectly sound glass tabletop to explode?

A check of the internet revealed that this is not as unusual as it might seem. There are many reports of tables, shower doors, and other glass items shattering for no reason.

ABC News did a report on this phenomenon. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/spontaneously-shattering-glass-injuries-27466802

It seems there are several reasons why this might happen:

“Spontaneous glass breakage is a phenomenon by which toughened glass (or tempered) may spontaneously break without any apparent reason. The most common causes are:

Minor damage during installation such as nicked or chipped edges later developing into larger breaks normally radiating from point of defect.

Binding of the glass in the frame, causing stresses to develop as the glass expands and contracts due to thermal changes or deflects due to wind

Internal defects within the glass such as nickel sulfide inclusions

Thermal stresses in the glass

Inadequate glass thickness to resist wind load.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_glass_breakage

So, “What can I learn from this experience of a spiritual nature?” I asked myself after I recovered from the shock.

First, disasters can happen quickly, without warning, out of the blue, through no fault of our own or even as a consequence of bad choices on our part or someone else.

Just ask Job. Loss after loss kept piling up—family, possessions, health. We all have experienced shattering catastrophes—sudden death of loved ones, violent storms, broken relationships, lost jobs, and on and on. These horrific things come our way leaving us mindlessly scratching ourselves with the “shards” of life.

“Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes.” (Job 2:8 NLT)

Second, we need help when these situations happen–and they happen to all of us.

Though this was a tiny problem in the overall scheme of things, it does illustrate how important it is to have people jump into action to help when disasters happen.

I can remember when my grandson, Garrett, died tragically. We were paralyzed by grief. Thankfully, Christian brothers and sisters rushed to help us. Though they could not fix the loss of our shattered lives, they came to minister and comfort. They took to heart Paul’s admonition:

“God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (1 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT)

What a blessing!

The ultimate ministry and source of healing, though, came from the Divine–the Lord Almighty–Jehovah Rapha–my Healer and my Restorer. Through the days and weeks that followed our disastrous loss, we learned the truth of Isaiah 41:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 NLT)

And Isaiah 40:28-31:

“Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT)

With Job, we can say:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21 NKJV)

After all, He is the only One who can take all those thousands of broken pieces, put them back together again, and even turn them into a beautiful stained glass work of art!

What about you? Ever experienced something so sudden and disastrous that it threatened to shatter your very existence? Ever stood back and watched the King of the Universe create a work of art out of the broken pieces? If so, I’d love to hear your testimony, for it may help others who are struggling.

Thanks for reading and sharing. Many blessings.

PS Anyone need a topless table frame? I elected to purchase a new metal one!