Several years ago at the start of The Colonel's Grace, I painted furniture. A lot of it. It was my creative outlet and my thing, after a very long workday in corporate America, that I did to preserve some of my sanity. In the soul sucking world of Standard Operating Procedures and Performance Management, it was the escape that brought me perspective and time to think through all of the challenges of the day and week. (Okay, yes, some exaggeration there but the grind of the corporate world is very real!)
As the years passed, jobs and companies changed, and responsibility increased (along with significant travel requirements), I had trouble keeping furniture in stock and so changed direction a bit with The Colonel's Grace. There just wasn't enough time to do it well.
This week that changed. We had one last week of gorgeous fall weather with temperatures in the 70s (very abnormal for the mountains!) and I dug through my storage unit of project pieces and found a couple to bring back to life. As I found myself going through the familiar processes, my thoughts went a little deeper to the parallels of my life. I learned:
Just as it takes time to clean and prep and paint multiple coats and designs to achieve the desired look on the furniture, faith often requires patience and persistence as we wait for our prayers to be answered. In both instances, the end result is often better than we ever could have imagined.
Just like trusting that each layer of paint will contribute to the final result, even when you can still see brush strokes and thin spots of paint, faith involves trusting that everything happens for a reason. We may not immediately see the big picture as we go through the layers of life, but we trust that all things are working together for our good.
3. Imperfections in furniture add character and tell stories of past lives. Similarly, imperfections are part of our journey; we all have bumps and bruises that we can either try to hide or learn to embrace and use as stepping stones to personal growth and development.
4. Updating and restoring old furniture brings a new life and fresh perspective to that unique piece. Even the most time-worn piece can be brought back to a new beginning with the right restoration process. In our lives, no matter what our past holds, the love of our Savior can bring us back.
5. Sometimes the process of painting a piece can be as enjoyable as seeing the final product. No two pieces are the same, each has its own complexities and learnings that come along as you go through the process. As we learn and grow in our own journeys of faith, while nothing can compare to the joy of heaven, we can learn to appreciate the process of getting there as we find joy in our own journeys.
As with a well-painted piece of furniture, our lives can be a beautiful and meaningful work in progress. No matter our pasts, no matter our missteps and challenges, restoration is always there through the power of God's grace and true transformation can bring us into places of new life. Just as the piece is utterly dependent on the skill of the restoration artist, a life that is totally dependent on God can shine, even when others have written it off as unusable and without purpose.
Comentários