Transforming Church

One of the dearest friends of my entire life was my next-door neighbor, Hank. We spent many hundreds of hours together, talking, laughing, and doing projects. Hank was a brilliant man, with a vast array of talents. His greatest talent, however, lay in woodworking. You see, Hank was a master cabinetmaker. He had grown up in the business, learning from his father, who was also a master. It was my good fortune that Hank liked to teach, and he wanted to share what he knew to pass-along his heritage to the next generation. So, in his workshop, I became the son he never had. I learned as much as I could in the time we had; Hank was old and in failing health. In his final days, Hank turned his tools, notebooks, and supplies over to me. They became the foundation of my woodworking.

Among the supplies Hank left to me was a goodly assortment of lumber. The most wonderful piece was a black walnut board that was twenty inches wide, 1 ½ inches thick, ten feet long, perfectly flat, and straight as an arrow. Big deal, right? To a woodworker, yes, it is. Such a huge and magnificent board is very rare, so you do not use it casually. I have no idea where Hank had obtained this board, but he had kept it for years. He hauled it around every time he had moved, thinking someday he would find the right project to use it. That never happened. He would look at it admiringly, even winsomely, but he never could bring himself to cut it. Hank, the master cabinetmaker, was afraid that he might not choose the right project, or that he would make a mistake in cutting it. And so “the board” frustrated him until it passed to me.

I discovered “the board” in the shed one afternoon. I knew it was there, but I had never seen it close-up. As I dusted it off, I knew why Hank never could decide what to do with it. It was a marvelous piece of wood. The color was glorious, and the grain whirled and twisted in thrilling patterns. After several long minutes of appreciation, I carefully put it away, thinking that, someday, I would find the right project to utilize its beauty. Thus began my fascination with “the board”. My relationship with “the board” rapidly progressed into a mirror of the one that Hank had known. Several times a year, I would drag it out and try to envision what I would make out of it, only to put it away in frustration. “The board” had become a holy-grail of frustration for two generations.

One day, Lisa said that she wanted a coffee table, and she described what she had in mind. So, off to the shop I went, looking for lumber to glue-up to make this new project. As I dug through the lumber room, I was confronted by “the board”. Then and there, I made a decision. “The board” would become our coffee table. I would not be haunted by this piece of lumber any longer. I was going to enjoy it, not be controlled by it. So, with near-reverent care, I cut “the board”. After the first cut it was easy. It was fun! It was exciting! It took shape! There were some tricky situations because of the character of the wood, and there are some subtle flaws, but it turned out beautiful anyway, and my wife loves it. Besides, it certainly looks better in our living room than it ever did in my lumber room.
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What did I learn from “the board”? Lots of things------

Beautiful potential that is untapped can become a burden and a disappointment.

Untapped potential can cripple more than just one generation.

Fear of failure or making mistakes will hinder us from achieving anything of purpose.

We have no joy when we allow fear of failure to prevent us from undertaking a new project.

There is no “perfect project”. There are no perfect conditions.

Sometimes it takes an outside force to prod us out of the complacency of our comfort zones.

To achieve results, we must take action.

There is freedom in just letting-go and taking a chance.
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What are you holding on to that keeps you from growing? What are you afraid of that steals your joy? Are you exercising your potential? Are you using your talents? Jesus wants us to be free of bondage. He wants us to express ourselves. He wants us to take some chances. There are no perfect conditions, but the conditions are never better than when He prods us to action. Let go. Let God work in you and through you. You’ll be amazed at the beauty that will result.

In Christian Love--