Christian Living

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My sister, Ramona, and I have very few things in common outside of being sisters. I inherited the high cheekbones and hollow cheeks of my Cherokee ancestors. But my skin burns easily and my eyes are green. Ramona, on the other hand, didn’t inherit the Cherokee cheeks. She did, however, inherit the extremely dark complexion and brown eyes. In fact, she’s been approached by numerous people speaking Spanish, assuming that she is of Hispanic origin.

Literature was always a passion for me. I was good at Math. I just didn’t have a passion for it. Ramona just graduated from UT Tyler and is now a high school Math teacher. I was an extremely athletic teenager and very musically inclined. Ramona was the scholastic one and even today, she’s all up in the middle of politics. YUK! But she can’t keep a beat or carry a tune in a bucket. In fact, if she ever has any drawing or writing to do, anything at all that is artistic that she needs done, she calls me.

But there is at least one common interest between us. It’s that of an appreciation for fine furniture. She and her husband are blessed financially, to some extent. At least they are in comparison to me. She can afford to dress her home nicely. I have few things that I actually purchased new. Most every piece of furniture in my home was either given to me or purchased in a yard sale or resale shop.

Ramona gave me a new desk. Well, it’s new to me anyway. The desk I’m currently sitting at is very small. I have my CPU on a stool beside the desk because there isn’t room on top of it. On the other side is an old TV table that has my printer, extra paper, a clay pencil holder that my daughter made and an antique lamp on it. Pretty junky for a clean freak like myself. The desk Ramona gave to me is extra large. It’s going to look very nice in here when I get it moved in from the front porch.

I just got done putting a coat of stain on it. I’m going to wait until tomorrow morning, put another coat of stain on it, and then bring it in tomorrow evening. It looks great so far. I’m anxious to get it in. It surprised me to see how the wood grain took to the stain. It is a beautiful piece of furniture. But I have a few tips for anyone who’s brave enough to tackle staining.

#1 (This is the only tip that I have for you that I did NOT have to learn by trial and error!) Always sand and stain with the grain and not against it.

#2 Make sure you remove ALL of the old varnish before staining. It’s possible to sand too much, but not likely.

#3 Put whatever you are staining on top of a piece of plastic. Make sure the plastic is large enough to cover several feet of ground surrounding the furniture you’re staining.

#4 Cover or move all house plants, birdfeeders, etc.

#5 Either move what you’re staining out into wide open space or cover doors, walls, windows, and/or porch railings. No matter how careful you are, you WILL splash. And if you’re half as clumsy as I seem to have been, you WILL spill.

#6 Leftover glue from tape does not come off with sandpaper. A strong thumbnail works well. A razorblade probably works even better.

#7 WEAR GLOVES! Brown fingernails are not attractive. Stained fingertips are sticky, no matter how many times you wash them. And tanned skin is nice as long as it isn’t overly patchy.

#8 Wear clothes and shoes that you do not mind throwing away after the job is finished or that you will use for other messy jobs, like yardwork or painting.

#9 If you have long hair, put it in a ponytail! Better yet, put it in a bun or even in a shower cap!

#10 Make doubly sure that the cloth you use to wipe off excess stain is lint FREE!

Ramona and I are not the only ones with an appreciation for fine furniture. I’m sure you all know that our Lord, when He walked on the earth as a man, was a carpenter by profession. I can only imagine how much care He put into the details of the pieces He built. My thoughts run wild imagining the love He put into His work. And I can’t help but to be overwhelmed with appreciation for the care He puts into the fine details that make up ME.

I recall a dream I had not long ago about a restoration job He’d begun in me. What a beautiful home we shared in my dream. The woodwork was so intricate. I will never forget the detailed carvings in the furniture, doors and trim. The Word tells us that the Lord has gone to prepare a place for us. I can’t help but wonder if the place He has prepared for me looks anything at all like the one in that dream. And yet, I believe it is much more beautiful than I can begin to imagine.

I’m going to enjoy my new desk and take great care of it. I’m thankful for such a fine piece of furniture. Ramona made me promise that I would give it back to her if I should ever decide I don’t want it. I hate to be the one to tell her, but she’ll never get that desk back. Even if I wind up more financially blessed than she is, that desk is likely to be a permanent part of my home no matter where my home is or how well furnished it is. Or at least I would like to believe that it will be mine until I go to the place our Lord has prepared for me.

In fact, I think I’ll take my old, beat up rocker that I got in a yard sale out on the porch and stain it as well. This time, however, I think I’ll look back at some of the tips I gave to you and actually put them to use. Surely the new-to-me rocker will bring more than a few pleasant love-filled moments when my grandchildren come to visit. And in the meantime, I rejoice in that the Lord wants to keep and care for old, beat up me too. Prayerfully, the Lord and I will continue to have many pleasant love-filled moments when we visit as well. In fact, I think I'll go crawl up in His lap right now.
© Joyce Pool

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