It's All Raw Material

Cross made by my brother Bob years ago.
A favorite keepsake for me as Bob went
home to be with the Lord in 1989.  

"By a Carpenter mankind was made, and only by that Carpenter can mankind be remade." Desiderius Erasmus

I grew up surrounded by carpenters. I have seven brothers, and every one of them is a craftsman of wood. From clocks and cradles to winding staircases and homes... I've seen more wood projects built than I can count.

In the hands of a carpenter, wood is transformed. From a pile of boards, the skillful use of tools and some planning can create about anything. Who knows what would happen with that same pile of wood in my hands...probably nothing. 

The same is true in life. There is a Master Carpenter who is skillful and has quite a plan.  Our lives are the raw material in His hands. 

It's so easy to walk through life making judgments on situations, calling things "bad" and "good".  We work hard at getting more "good" than "bad", because it works more into our picture of life and what it should be.  We look at it like we're the carpenters and craftsman of our life and so we naturally reject what we consider "bad" material and do everything we can to escape, fix, and eliminate those things from happening. We work just as hard at finding and seeking more "good", because surely life will finally be completely wonderful when we find enough. 

Problem is, we're not the carpenters of our lives.

When we surrender our lives to the Master Carpenter, we can accept every situation as raw material and place it in His well-equipped and loving hands. He can build and rebuild, fashioning it into His good and amazing plans. And as I look at the wonderful wooden cross, I know down deep there is no better way to live than in His hands. 

How about you? What raw material in your life needs to be put into His hands?