I'm finally finding a rhythm in Knoxville. I am settled in my home. I have adapted to my new store and am starting to fall into the habit of successfully bending to the ebbs and flows of our inconsistent business. I am spending more time thinking of ways to build my team and grow team members individually. I am building friendships here and letting unhealthy relationships I've been holding onto die. I'm feeling good. Over the past few weeks, I've been picking back up some hobbies. I bought a couple of new books to read, some new crocheting supplies (yes, I am 100 years old..) and bought some small furniture pieces to refurbish. I picked up a little chair and bedside table to strip and make new at goodwill about a week ago-
I started first with the chair, thinking I could finish it in a day. I was wrong. I began to take this little monster of a chair apart. It had over 70 screws- I kid you not- and 4 very worn bolts holding it together. After a trip to Target (because I didn't own a wrench), I began to strip the paint off of the frame which proved to be a harder process than I anticipated. By the time I got to this step, it was well after midnight. "Bump this crap. I'm going to bed." I said to myself (Note: The last thought was paraphrased for the young readers I have.) I woke up the next morning and looked at the pile of parts that only hours before made up an ugly, but functional chair. I began to reupholster the chair cushion and back with some fabric I picked up the day before. This part of the process comes easy to me, but let me tell you, it is not wise to pick a striped fabric when one is as obsessive compulsive as I tend to be. I then looked at the frame- partially stripped and sent a picture out to a couple of friends showing them the process (or lack there of) that I had made. I got back several replies of "Oh, I love it!" and "So shabby chic!" to where I convinced myself that I should just leave the half stripped frame as is. (Note: I am lazy.) I put the chair together with the newly upholstered cushions (which looked fabulous, IF I may say so..) took a step back and realized.... I hated it. I spent hours and hours working on this piece of furniture that I had a vision for, got lazy 3/4 of the way through and absolutely hated the end product.
This very long story of a chair that still is to become has a point. To me, this whole process mirrors how the great God of the universe works in our lives. He begins with a broken, ugly, tarnished piece with lots of potential for purpose and beauty and gradually strips us of what makes us ugly and makes us new for His purpose and His glory. And if you look in the middle of a project- maybe what you perceive to be the end- and it's still not pretty... God isn't done with you yet. To be completely transparent- I haven't really given my faith or God or theology in general much of a thought in the past year or so. I've been so busy building my own story, busying myself with work, that I've neglected to recognize God's hand in my life at all. God is so good to catch my attention in the slightest ways- to make Himself known through the extraordinary and the ordinary, I praise Him for the work He has done thus far and for the work to be done.
As for the chair, I'm going to take it apart once more and restore it to the vision I originally had for it.
