Part 3: Every Stain is a Story

Some stains feel impossible to remove.

We carry them—hidden or in plain sight—believing they define us. A past mistake. A painful chapter. A wound left by someone else. Some stains were placed on us before we even had a choice—generational patterns, inherited strongholds, words spoken over us that we never asked to believe. Others are the result of our own choices, the places where we fell short, where we wish we could rewrite the story.

And some stains? They come from life itself. The weight of grief, disappointment, rejection.

We work hard to scrub them away. If we could just try harder, be better, move on faster—maybe we could finally be clean. But the moment one stain fades, another seems to take its place.

But here’s the truth: In Christ, stains don’t stay stains.

Some stains require repentance—the ones we caused, the ones where we need to turn away and ask God to make us new.

Some stains require forgiveness—the wounds placed on us by others, the burdens we were never meant to carry.

Some stains require grace—for the disappointments, the grief, the struggles we can’t explain but still weigh heavy on our hearts.

And for all of them, Jesus offers redemption.

Step back. Look again.

The pieces of your story—the wounds, the healing, the lessons—are not proof of your failure. They are the colors of a masterpiece in the making. What you saw as stains, God sees as strokes of artistry. What felt like fragmentation is being fitted together with intention.

You were never just stained—you were being transformed.

When light passes through stained glass, what once seemed like a mess becomes something breathtaking. Every piece, every color, every seemingly broken fragment plays a part in the whole. But the transformation happens when the glass is placed in the hands of the Artist.

This is what God is doing with you.

He is not discarding the broken pieces. He is not ashamed of the colors of your past. Instead, He is crafting a masterpiece, shaping something beautiful out of what you once thought was beyond repair.

And when His light shines through, you will finally see—every stain was never just a flaw. It was part of a greater design.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time." – Ecclesiastes 3:11