The Artist Next Door

A couple of years ago, we had an addition put on our house. Keith Murphy and co. tore off our old roof with it's cracked and weather-worn shingles, and put on a second story. A pile of nasty shingles, siding, wood and such began to gather in the backyard.

That's when our next door neighbor, a retired fellow named Bob, began to show an interest. "Whatcha gonna do with all that wood?"

My husband Dave shrugged. "Why? You want it?"

Bob nodded, and Dave said, "it's yours."

I remember Dave chuckling later on at how excited Bob was to have our discarded, useless wood. Oh well, we figured it was the old our-trash-his-treasure principle at work.

A couple of weeks ago, Bob wanted to take down a very tall, and very dead tree, which was on his side of the fence, but over-hanging our yard. Dave helped him take it down. To me, it looked like little boys at play. I mean what's more fun than cutting into a big ole' tree, then pulling it down with your Ford F250? I guess Bob thought Dave was doing him some big favor, though really it was just an opportunity for Dave to play with power tools and be super-macho. I stayed far away just in case the tree didn't land where they wanted it to!

Anyhow, today we came home from church and found the item pictured above on our front porch along with a card from Bob, thanking Dave for the help and wishing us a Merry Christmas. What do you suppose this gorgeous stool is made of? Yup, pieces of our old roof! You should see it in real life. The rounded edges, the color, the grain... amazing. A true work of art. How blessed we are with such wonderful neighbors.

I couldn't help thinking what a perfect picture the stool is of what Christmas is all about. Jesus, the savior, coming to seek and save that which was lost. There was mankind, beyond hope, desperately wicked, and headed for death. We were marred, flawed, useless. But Jesus came, picked us up, and just like Bob looking over the fence and seeing potential is some dirty old wood, Jesus look at us and said, "I can make something beautiful out of them."

I look at this stool standing by my tree and am amazed. What I'm amazed at is the artist. The wood didn't form itself into this gorgeous piece. Left to itself, it would only decay. It was the artist who saved it, transformed it, and made it into something new.

So it is with Jesus and us. So many people feel too old, too bad, too weak, too beyond redemption. But there is no person his touch cannot heal, no soul too vile to be made clean. He is the God of second chances and new life.

Thank you Jesus. And thank you Bob. I'm glad to know you!

2 Corinthians 2:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!