Early in 2017, I decided I would make my own tiles for my kitchen backsplash. I never realize the hundreds of hours it would take to finish the project. I spent months testing clay and glaze combinations. It took months to find the right glaze. It took several kiln loads to figure out that differing clay bodies were causing variations in the finished glaze color. In August, I lost a kiln load of tile because of few of the tiles were not dry enough when they were fired. The damp tiles exploded leaving unwanted bits on the hundreds of other tiles in the kiln, making them damaged and unusable. I was ready to give up; I was running out of time. The backsplash needed to be done before the home tour. I went to the tile store to see if there was another choice that would be satisfactory for my kitchen. What I discovered, at the tile store, is that textured tiles in differing tones and textures looked beautiful and were in style. I realized by trying to have perfect tiles I was missing the opportunity to have a unique backsplash filled with tiles of different textures and tones. I went home motivated to finish the backsplash by embracing the variations. If I wanted perfect I would go buy manufactured tiles, but I needed handmade to make the backsplash uniquely mine.
Anyone working with clay tiles realizes the hardest part is drying the tile, so they dry evenly and flat. Their natural tendency is to curl as they dry. As the tiles went on the wall it seemed that more and more of the imperfections could be seen. Thankfully, the grouting and the polishing helped to improve their appearance. Every day I fell more in love with the backsplash, but they were far from what some people would judge as “perfect.” I was worrying way too much what others would think with their perfection filter. Then something amazing happened; The Holy Spirit talked to me one day. The Holy Spirit said, “Think of each tile as a person, each uniquely different, some with more roughness, others more smooth.” I came to realize that life isn’t supposed to be perfect.
When the grout was added it made each of the individual tiles more beautiful than just one single one alone. It became a beautiful mosaic. I realized it is like God’s love that ties us together and helps to get rid of our rough edges, some tiles (or people) need more love to tie us together than others. When the tiles were polished, it is similar to how each of us can shine in God’s love. Some of us shine more than others but in God’s love, we all shine a little brighter, right where we are.
I’ve come to love my backsplash, I never see the imperfections, I just see the overall beauty and the patterns of light that reflect from it. It also helped that the home tour provided such favorable feedback.
What do you see first, the imperfections or the beauty? Make 2018 a year where you stop focusing on the imperfections and start focusing on the beauty found around and within us all.
Staying in Touch: Barbara Hirsh can be reached at info@LiveKinder.com I love hearing your kindness stories. Please sign-up for almost weekly kindness message at www.LiveKinder.com or follow LiveKinder on Facebook!
