Stamped into my DNA before time began, God made me a “Creative”. My mind processes information in pictures. Mentally, I take things apart and redesign them. I take the discards of life and put them back together, so they are both functional and beautiful.
THE EYESORE
A friend of mine was clearing out the estate of her mother. Sitting in her mom’s bedroom was the cedar chest. Years of neglect had taken their toll. The piece treasured by her mom was the wedding present from her true love half a century ago. Now it was an eyesore in a pile of belongings the family didn’t want to toss away but also had no place to keep.
I received the call. “Would you be interested in Mom’s cedar chest? If so, it is yours for free. You can do with it whatever you want.” The words “free”, “cedar” and “do with it what you want” all resonated in my heart. The perfect combination for joy.
CAN OLD BE MADE NEW?
A friend dropped it off at our apartment. Bill and I awkwardly lugged it up the two flights of stairs. The cedar chest was far heavier than it looked. Bill didn’t share my joy as he viewed the piece skeptically. He wondered, “What has Jacqui agreed to now?” I viewed the chest with hope.
PLANS MADE FOR BEAUTY
And there it sat in the middle of our living room. It indeed was an eyesore – the outside finish yellowed by the years of neglect; definitely not a thing of beauty. The chest monopolized space while I brainstormed how I could resurrect it. Bill grew increasingly frustrated day by day as it resided smack dab in the middle of the room. Finally, after about six weeks I came up with a game plan. The picture finally formed in my imagination for the future of the chest to make it both functional and beautiful.
Bill was out of the apartment on the day I pushed and pulled the chest out to the back porch. Covered with sweat, I began removing the finish with my electric sander. I consider this part the treasure hunt: discovering what exists under the top layers of a piece. Will glory or disaster be revealed? I was blessed. The exterior wood just needed multiple sanding to reveal a lovely woodgrain. I treated top and back with Danish Oil. The metal trim work needed cleaning but was reattached as good as new.
Next came the front and sides. What could complement the stained wood? Multiple layers of a cream base paint did the trick.
Finally came the best part, what I call the “jewelry” details of furniture reimagining: multiple layers of stenciling. I echoed the stenciling on the bare cedar interior and the top of the piece. Hours and hours of tedious work, but well worth the effort.
THE “JEWELRY” APPLIED
Lovingly, I had carefully taken apart the eyesore of the past and created a new future. With the addition of a wheelbase, the chest is my new coffee table. This piece that is cherished, at least my generation.
HOW OUR CREATOR WORKS
Isn’t that how God works in our lives? Our Creator longs to take the ruins of our lives and put them back together so they are both functional and beautiful. He strips away the stains of our past and gives us a future of beauty, far better than we could ever imagine. Creating is in God’s DNA.
