Book Review: Stained Glass Hearts by Patsy Clairmont

I’m sitting in one of the white gliders, cushioned in peach and white stripes.

I hold the book on my lap and gaze at the framed stained glass that hangs on the peach wall above the white chest in the meditation room.

I note the seagulls (at least they look like seagulls), the hills, the trees, the birds, the butterfly, the flowers and how the light reflects through the colors.

I suspect the artist had a plan, a design he could only create by scoring and cutting glass, by grinding edges, and soldering pieces together.

He had to see his art from a broken perspective in order to birth this piece of beauty.

And this is how Patsy Clairmont asks us to see–through the lens of our own brokenness.

To see our own potential for beauty through the jagged fragments of life.

Patsy writes, “This book, more than my past writings, reveals the solemn side of my heart etched in by loss. But I also plan to explore fascinating art that will potentially enrich our minds. We will enjoy music that hopefully inspires a zippier life-dance; we will consider nature’s display of God’s glory; and we will dig into Scripture, knowing it will enhance faith. Of course, my funny bone is still intact, and if you know me, there’s no telling when I might act up.”

And yes, Patsy does act up. But she takes us deep and gives us a peek at the light that can be found in the darkest places.

In Stained Glass Hearts, Patsy shares stories and dispenses humor and wisdom as she encourages us to offer our slivers of pain and hurt to the One who can solder us into a beautiful piece of art that reflects His light and colors.

At the end of each chapter, she includes what she calls an Art Gallery where she sends us off on our own “field trips” to explore music, art, artists, poetry, prayers, books, scriptures, and quotes that have enlarged her own heart and perspective.

I especially lingered in the chapter titled, “Wisps of Poetry from Stained Glass Hearts.”

“Everyone interprets meaning through his or her own grid,” she writes, “regardless of where the poet was actually coming from or intending to go. That’s part of the glory of a poem; it fits inside of us often according to our need.”

She goes on to say, “A poem can open the stained glass window of the heart to help us see into the story of another and read our own more accurately. It broadens our perspectives.”

This is a book that can be read quickly, but one that should be returned to and savored chapter by chapter.

It’s a book for learning to see with a broken perspective.

A stained glass perspective.

It’s a book for learning to see the beauty in the brokenness.

To see His colors reflected in ways we might not otherwise see.

This is a book for a deep see diver.

Photos taken at Hiland Cottage,
a hospice house in Petoskey, Michigan

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze“Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255