There are many more treasures on the walls and around my desk, but I think for now at least I’ll end this series with the story of this old piece of wood gifted to me by a friend. We became friends from the moment we met, but over time and through horific circumstances we became maybe closer than brothers. I preached his funeral just a month or so ago, after he finally lost a very long battle with a rare lung disease that I never even fully understood.
For decades in his life he had been a pillar of the community, a deacon, well respected, and he raised two beautiful, talented, sweet and funny daughters, but in one instant he did something that changed the course of his life. He could have spent years in prison, but a merciful judge didn’t allow that, but Satan kept whispering and sometimes shouting in his ear, that his life was over. Everything that he had ever done was useless. He was useless, and he often thought of suicide. Daily, sometimes more than that he would talk, cry, and sit there in silence, and I would listen. We would read some Scripture. If I remember correctly we read only one Scripture passage for almost an entire year, but we would talk about it daily - Psalm 42. In time, he stopped listening to that dark voice, and it was replaced by the grace of Jesus. He rediscovered his purpose, but this time He completely understood and felt deep in his soul the significance and freeness of the forgiveness that Jesus offered.
In his workshop, all alone, he began creating art. He would take useless rocks, old tin, wood or whatever, and transform them into something useful and beautiful. He would then give that art to people he met along the way and share with them the story of Jesus’ free gift of mercy, grace and forgiveness. He gifted each of my little family pens that he created out of rock. I don’t know how he did it without shattering the fragile things, but they were beautiful. They were useful, and we still use them.
And then one day, he called and asked me to drive to his state to eat lunch with him. I did, and he gave me the old piece of barn wood pictured above that he had turned into an Alabama “A”. He told me it was hard for him to make with him being a diehard South Carolina Gamecock, but he did it because he loved me.
I love this old piece of barn wood, largely because of the man who gave it to me, but I love it even more because it reminds me that God is never through with us. No matter how far we run from Him, no matter how many bad things we do that separates us from Him, He still loves us, and He wants a relationship with us. If we only confess our sins to Him, and turn from our ways, then He is faithful and just to save us. Then through discipleship He will transform us from our old useless selves and turn us into something beautiful.
This is my favorite gift of all.
God bless and go and find peace in HIm.
Steve D.