“Isn’t this the carpenter?”

Mark 6:3

This is a first for me.  A project I’ve never tried before.  And I’m very pleased!

I don’t have many talents in the area of home improvement.  Any painting that’s ever been done in our homes, I have done.  And I know what I like when it comes to colors, and furniture, and art.  But I’m not much in the areas of window treatments, or accessories, or most DIY projects.  At least the ones that call for any kind of design.

As you might know, we’ve been working on our master bedroom of late.  We redid the floors, taking up the carpet and laying down wood floors.  Then we painted a new shade on the walls, and updated the artwork a little bit. 

Then, on a whim, I decided to update the armoire in our room.  We bought it used, and as long as we’ve owned it, it has had a flat, white paint job.  So I decided to sand off the paint and see what was under there.

The bad news is, after sanding and sanding, I still wasn’t getting through that white paint.  And it’s a big piece of furniture, so the job was looking harder and harder.  But then I moved the sander to a different place, and suddenly it was having a noticeable effect.  When I got the edges, the paint came off much easier, and I found there was a different color underneath.  Apparently the piece was originally painted red, or deep pink or something, because that’s what was showing through.  Before I knew it, I found I was “distressing” our armoire.

The piece has taken on a whole new look now.  Without trying to make huge changes in it, I was able to give it some personality, and some interest.  I took a few days, giving it a touch of sanding here and there, cleaned it well, then gave it a clear coat so it wasn’t a dull, flat paint anymore.  It looks amazing. 

The fun thing was thinking about how to do it just right.  Too much sanding on the edges, or pressing too hard, would go right past all the coats of paint, and down to the wood.  Not enough, and I wouldn’t see any change in the white at all.  It had to be just the right touch.

And I thought about God, as he molds and grows us, perfecting little places in us, strengthening our weak places and beautifying us in ways that might be so small as to be unnoticeable, and yet we are changing.  He knows just the right touch ~ when to apply more pressure and when too much might break us.  He has a delicate, deft touch.

I’ll have to remember that the next time I feel He’s “refining” me a little too hard ~ that He is the Master Creator and Craftsman.  Maybe then I won’t find the experience so distressing. 

~ “You, Lord, are our Father.

We are the clay, You are the potter;

We are all the work of Your hand.” ~

Isaiah 64:8

~