Hello there friends. I'm so glad I get to share with you today. I have been getting so many lessons from the Lord lately, and I attribute that to you all. The more I share with you, the more He gives me to share. I'm so grateful for that, and for you all that are here to listen to what I have to share.
Let's jump right in. We just had our Christmas with my husband's side of the family a couple of weeks ago, because we were all making an effort to separate ourselves to be as safe as possible. So we finally got together and I received an amazing gift from my in-laws. It was a shoe bench. I has a shelf on the bottom for shoes so they aren't out in the middle of the floor, and then you can sit on the bench and put them on. It's so great for my house and my family. It gives a place for shoes that accessible and a place for little ones to sit to get help with shoes that isn't all the way in the floor. Am I right parents? Sometimes it's hard reaching down to those little feet to tie shoes when they are all the way in the floor.
What's even more wonderful, my father-in-law built this bench himself. He is an extremely talented craftsmen, and the pieces he makes are always so beautiful. What I love about handmade pieces like that is the craftsman leaves something of himself in the piece when he makes it. So, there are bits and pieces of my father-in-law all over our house. My girls will have a part of their Papaw to hold on to forever. I love that. They are all doubly special to me, because they remind me of my own father who was also a woodworking and gave me pieces of himself to hold on to when he was gone. They are so special.
When my father-in-law gave me my gift he said,
"It's actually made from old fence boards. I hope that's ok."
I almost cried to be completely honest. That's how my father worked with wood. He would find wood in old run down houses, he would ask for boards when they replaced or repaired old houses and churches, he would volunteer to help take down an old barn if he got the use the wood. That was his character to reclaim the wood and make something new. For my father-in-law to give me something made in the same style that my dad would have done it, makes my heart so happy. I know that if they had ever had the chance to meet on this earth they would have been very good friends.
My shoe bench is awesome. I absolutely love it. If you looked at it you would never know it was made form old fence boards. That wood has been reclaimed for a new purpose. Those boards aren't meant for keeping livestock in anymore, they are remade into a remarkable piece of craftsmanship. Their purpose is to support bodies as they get ready to go out into this world whether to work, school, the store, or any number of other adventures that await us. Those boards have been made new.
It reminds me of how God has made us new creations in Christ.
"Anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
When we accept Christ as our savior, we are made new, just like those fence boards. We have new purposes. We have new beauty. We have new life. Even if we are a little rotted in spots or have a few knots here and there, God sees us as usable for his purposes and mission. And just like my father-in-law God is a craftsman. He is the ultimate craftsman. He can take anything we offer and make anything he wants.
Here's something even more exciting, God's gonna keep on making things new.
"And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5
There are different types of new. There's new like brand new baby, and then there's new like a restored car. The new in this verse is like a restored car. God is going to take everything that we have and are here on this Earth and restore it. He will make it like new. We will be like new. This Earth will be like new. We will be reclaimed for God.
Just like those fence boards were reclaimed to make my bench, we can be reclaimed for God's kingdom. When we give God all that we have he can create a beautiful life for us here and in the age to come. Praise God that I'm reclaimed, and repurposed.
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