Surrounded by clouds of dust. The smell was wood particles floating around
in the humid, Tennessee air. Sweat
beads dripping from my nose as I stood, hunched over, pushing a piece of
sandpaper back and forth over the top of a table that I purchased. I bought the table used for 25 dollars from
a Facebook buy sell and trade group.
There is just something so redemptive about taking an item that
somebody else no longer wants and repurposing it. Making it beautiful. A bit of trash to treasure I suppose you
could say. Currently in our apartment,
the only place I have to work on anything crafty is our tiny, mostly closed in
porch. The air swirled around and
returned, blowing the sawdust back into my face as I stood out there for hours,
wearing out my arms in attempt to peel away stickers left by tiny hands who
didn’t care what the table use to be, and then the layers of old, chipped,
scratched and dirty stain and finish.
My hope was simply to make a nice solid piece that could stand a few years
of propping up feet, or holding up a drink or maybe a few books. Keeping snacks at arms reach or a Kleenex
box right where you need it for that big sneeze, and maybe…just maybe, make it
look like someone cared enough to try and salvage a tattered, old, used up
table. As I sanded, and my hands began
to blister from the repetitive motion and rough paper against my skin, I could
not help but feel the presence of the Lord.
I began to think about the fact that Jesus was Himself a carpenter. His profession, though not a major part of
His ministry, and barely mentioned in Scripture, was the very act of creating. He would take a pile of wood, perhaps,
broken or useless pieces of lumber, and form them into something
beautiful. He spent countless hours,
working His fingers raw and His arms tired, and I wonder….I wonder if He
thought about the people for whom each piece was for. I wonder if He prayed over each piece and
the home it would bless. I wonder if
this was in part, preparing Him for His ministry of healing the broken, and mending
the wounded. Bringing light and hope to
a dark world, and showing us that God does indeed take the broken and the
bruised and make beautiful things.
As I sanded more of the table I began to realize that underneath
all of the thick varnish and dated, dingy stain, there was indeed a beautiful,
well-made table. As more and more of
the table immerged, it brought me to tears as I began to realize that was
hidden far outweighed what was showing.
The beauty, and quality of the piece would never have been evident by looking at the table before this process began.
I could not help but think about this metaphor of what the
Lord does in our lives as we learn to trust Him more…He begins to peel back the
layers. Difficult and painful as it
sometimes can be, these layers of fear, insecurity, pride, greed….These layers that
keep us from being the person we are created to be. They hide the beauty that we hold, given by
the creator, for a unique purpose we alone are called to. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them”.
He designed us, in His wisdom and glory, for a purpose that only He can
fulfill. We have to trust and surrender to His plan for
our lives. Believing that just as I
felt pride in the work I was doing, how much more pride must He feel toward His
creation. How much more passionately does
He want to restore and heal and peel away the many layers of sin, and pain and brokenness
that cover up His light and love.
Revelation 21:5 says “He who was seated on the throne said,
“I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words
are trustworthy and true.””
We can stand on this promise. He is not done with us yet. He is making everything new, and we can hold
onto this, knowing that no matter how things may appear…He is still in control. Still reigning above with authority and
power. He is able and willing, and
actively moving on our behalf. We are
His workmanship.
