Built With Patience And Love

After building it decades ago, I still used it. It was tipped on its side in a corner of the garage and was still being used to store stuff. Every time my wife Amy and I were in the garage working out, I'd look at it and think someday I'll refinish it. Our garage is part guest room/office, part gym, storage area, and where I drum; we haven't parked a car in there for a long time. 

Over the years when I looked at it sitting on its side in the corner, I sometimes wondered why I still had it -- a wooden cabinet I had made in woodshop way back in 7th grade. As I wrote last year, I don't remember exactly why I took woodshop in 7th grade, but it was probably because my dad worked with wood and built furniture, toys, and other things. When I was a teen, our home garage was full of table saws, circular saws, jigsaws, and so many other woodworking tools.

So, I took woodshop in junior high and made a cabinet. An actual working cabinet with shelves and hinged doors. It took a lot of patience, and sweat, and yes, I guess a lot of love. Now that I think about it, I never wanted to get rid of it over the years. Again, I wanted to refinish it at some point, and I finally am now.

Because we're creating a sun room out of our back porch, Amy mentioned we could put my old wooden cabinet out there if I really wanted to refinish it. Dig it out of the shadowy corner in the garage, sand and stain it, and actually use it again as it was intended to be used in its refreshed glory. A second life of sorts. What is old is new again.

This is important to me because sometimes I feel I have no control over anything in this world. And with my business struggling right now, I feel like a failure and that I won't be able to provide for my family. That I should've done this or I should've done that instead of where I'm at today.

But that's hogwash, because I actually do have more control over what I do right this very minute. And the next. And the next. Amy and I meditate daily and those meditations remind us that we're a universe of endless possibilities and that we are always good enough. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be, and my wife and children love me and are supportive and proud of me, just as I am of them. Sure, I have no idea what will happen tomorrow or in the next six months, but again, this very moment is mine, as is the next one, and the next. 

I posted the picture of my old cabinet I'm now refinishing and someone commented, "Pretty cool you still have it! You must have made it really well!" While someone else posted, "Old world craftsmanship -- it's nice how things hold up over time when they are built with patience and love."

Patience and love. Amen. I've never really given myself enough credit for the things I've done throughout my life. Of what I've overcome to get here and where I'm going. Of endless possibilities. I built that cabinet nearly 45 years ago, and while it wasn't really all that elaborate of a design, it was simple and sturdy and still standing today. All because it was built with patience and love when I was 13 years old. That's why today when I do have moments of self-doubt and feel like a failure, they are fleeting, because Amy and I have built our family on a foundation of patience, love, and infinite potential. 

Let that be a lesson to you, kids. Blessings to us all.