Thursday, April 3, 2014

Scraping

I've been working on the wood in the bathroom.  At some point in it's past it was painted a pale pink.  We thought (so much for thinking) since it was the only coat of paint on the wood that we could get it back to its original beauty.  After months of scraping I did manage to get it to this:

But, there is paint residue that resists the stain.  (I went through almost two packs of 60 grit sandpaper--it gummed it up so badly!)  So...we've decided to paint it white as we did the window.

The doors are breathtakingly gorgeous--now (as Matt rolls his eyes!!!) I want to redo every door in the house!!  (at about a week a door that will take us a long while!!)  There is something that is so beautiful about aged wood.  It has depth and character.  It has bumps, gouges, and ruts, BUT time has mellowed and smoothed it.

As I've scraped, sanded, and painted I've had a lot of thinking time.  Here's what God has been showing me. If you want a smooth, professional finish, you've got to put in LOTS of time scraping and sanding.  The events He allows in our lives polish and perfect us--get us ready to be "finished."  One thing I've learned through the past two years is that our circumstances aren't punishments--although the sanding and scraping can feel that way--they are God's way of showing us what needs some work.  Lately, before I say, "Why, me?" or "Do I really need this, God?"  I instead ask, "Show me what needs some scraping--what needs chipped away?"  If my door can look this good, think how nice I'll look when God gets done with me!

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