A Work Of Art

My husband is very handy.
He can fix anything.
He can build things with ease.
He can do wood carving as well.

I was spoiled through the years since we never had to call someone to do repairs.
He learned those skills quite early.
He did not learn them from his father.
In fact, he did repairs for his parents from time to time.

He learned the skills from the father of his friend.
This friend was his best man at our wedding.
His friend’s father owned a construction business.
My husband worked for him for a few summers.

On the job training is the best way to learn.
Some may call it apprenticeship.
No matter what you call it, it is coming alongside someone else to learn a skill.
It is gleaning from someone more experienced.

My husband learned quickly.
He learned by doing.
Our family benefited from all of that hands on learning.
My husband is passing those skills on to our sons as well.

Our youngest son is married with his own home.
I hear him and his dad face timing each other concerning this project or that repair.
Our son-in-love has also asked my husband for help with a few things.
Our oldest son, will be married in a few months; I know he will be there to help him as well.

My husband loves every one of their questions.
He likes to support them when they ask for advice.
A new generation is gleaning from the generation before.
Hands on experience is often the best teacher.

My son-in-love is quite handy as well.
In fact, that is one way he is very much like my husband.
I know my daughter appreciates all he is able to do.
I see the same pattern; it is a blessing.

My son-in-love has made things for my daughter.
He carved a wreath of sunflowers, which, after daisies, are a favorite flower.
That wreath is now hanging in the breakfast room of their home.
My daughter loves when her husband makes these things by hand for her.

My son-in-love is a high school history teacher.
He has access to the wood shop after school.
That is where many of the things were made.
He also has someone he has learned from through the years; someone who has come alongside.

My son-in-love made the grandfather’s clock that is now in their living room.
After they were married, he purchased the inner workings of the clock.
The Westminster chimes sound every quarter hour.
My daughter grew up with two chiming clocks in our home, so their clock is special to her.

After they were married, my son-in-love made a wooden sign with my daughter’s new name.
The sign sat proudly on her desk in her second grade classroom.
I knew he was working on something special when they learned they were having a baby.
My daughter never said what he was working on; it was to be a surprise.

About a month before the baby was to be born, they nursery was finished.
It had been ready prior to that time, but the things were not hung on the wall.
When I was over their house for dinner, they wanted me to see the nursery.
When I walked in the nursery, I saw it.

I could not believe my eyes.
My son-in-love had made me a Nativity cross that told the story of Jesus’ birth.
The intricate details of the wise men, the star, the shepherds, and the angels astounded me.
He made all those intricate cuts with a scroll saw.

When I walked into the nursery, there it was on the wall in front of me.
My son-in-love had made Noah’s ark.
I walked over and was utterly astounded.
Every animal was shown on the various levels of the ark.

Every cut, every detail was meticulously done by hand.
This was a work of art.
This was a labor of love.
This was a gift for his child.

There were no words to describe the beauty of what he created.
I had asked him to take a picture for me.
With the joy of our sweet granddaughter’s birth, I had forgotten about it.
To my delight, my son-in-love sent the picture to me.

I enlarged the picture on my phone.
I am still astounded at the intricacy of the design.
My daughter and my granddaughter are blessed.
This husband, this father, loves them well.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us– yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

Joseph, Jesus’s adopted father, was a carpenter.
Jesus learned carpentry skills from him.
I am sure Jesus stood next to Joseph and gleaned from him.
Jesus, who was present at Creation with the Father and the Spirit, worked with His hands.

Those same hands would be nailed to a cross.
Those same hands had scars that He incurred for our salvation.
Those same hands healed the sick, made the blind see, and enabled the deaf to hear.
Those same hands broke the bread that represented His body.

The work of our hands, though amazing, can never compare to the wok of Jesus’ hands.
When we create art, music, or literature, we create from something.
Jesus created everything from nothing.
Jesus’ hands created as only God could.

Our creativity is a God given gift.
When we make something beautiful, we are most like Him.
Our creations pale in comparison.
The beauty in our finite creations has His hand print all over them.

The fingerprint of God.
The hand print of God.
The work of our hands all to His glory.
Amen.

2 responses to “A Work Of Art”

1. Beautiful! What a talented man using God’s gift to him!

   Reply

   • Sue,
     He is quite talented.
     He is humble about his gifts and gives God the Glory.
     Gina

     Reply