I love learning. I am what you would call a lifelong student. Each year, I like to tackle at least one new thing that I have never done before. Since I am a student at heart, you will know what new thing I am trying because that shelf in the public library will be empty. This was never something conscious that I set out to do, it just kind of evolved over time.
Early on in my marriage, I told Zach that I would love to raise chickens. He was hesitant to say the least. I was a city girl. The only animals I had experience with were a dog and a cat. Zach told me that I would need to do some research first. Challenge accepted! I literally read every book in the library about raising chickens. I am now the happy owner of a flock of fifteen birds.
Over the years, I have learned about soap making, essential oils, gardening, succulents, aquariums, scuba diving, travel, upholstery, candle making, paleo cooking, crochet, home remodeling, and many other things that I have lost track of. Not everything I have studied has become a passion, but I’m not intimidated to at least learn. I am currently taking my first college class in twenty years and having a blast!
One thing I had never done before was to restore wood furniture. This summer I found an abused rocking chair at an estate sale. I have a weakness for rocking chairs. The rocking chair had simple lines and no carvings so I thought it would make for a great first project. The only problem was that it was sixty dollars. I have no idea about the value of antiques or if the chair even was an antique. All I knew was that it was ugly and in need of a lot of work. The man running the sale informed me that the next day everything would be half off. I took my chances and came back the next day. For thirty dollars, I was now the proud owner of this filthy chair.
Zach doesn’t quite have the same vision as I do for abandoned items. I’m pretty sure he thought I was crazy, but I informed him that I was going to do this project all by myself. All I would need is some coaching from him. In my heart, that really was my intent. I wanted to completely restore this chair all by myself. I had watched my fair share of DIY shows, how hard could it be?
I started by buying stripper. There were multiple layers of dirt, grime, lacquer, and stain that needed to be removed. I watched multiple Youtube videos and set out to apply my expert knowledge. The stripper I bought was gentle and could be used indoors. I followed the instructions and quickly found out I was in over my head. If there were fifty layers of buildup on this chair I may have only removed one. I increased the thickness of my application as well as the time that I let it sit. Still all I had to show for my work was a goopy mess. Not only could I not do this by myself, but Zach had never restored wood either. He knew how to finish it if I had bought something new, but this was another kind of beast altogether. I ended up calling my brother-in-law, who is quite knowledgeable when it comes to this kind of project. I could tell he was laughing on the inside at my gentle stripper. He told me that I would need to buy the heavy-duty stripper and move this project outdoors. I followed his advice, but even with the aggressive stripper, I cannot tell you how many applications I had to apply. At this point, I had fully pulled Zach into this project.
After the old was removed, it was now time to sand. I learned how to use a palm sander and was feeling very industrious. However, what the DIY shows don’t let you see is that the palm sander only works on the large areas. You also have to use sandpaper and get into all the nitty-gritty parts. Sanding made the wood smooth but it also revealed more problems. There was a dark stain on the front right side of the chair. Again, I had to ask my brother-in-law to come by. Upon seeing the chair, he said the chair had been peed on by a dog and it had stained the wood. I would need to carefully apply hydrogen peroxide to the stain and make sure it didn’t touch the other part of the wood. One of the rocker rails had also been chewed on by a dog so I would need to either aggressively sand it and be okay that it was a good inch shorter than the other side, or I would need to replace it.
Eventually, all the sanding was done, joints glued, and new screws put in place. I applied stain and several layers of shellac on top. The wood was beautiful but it still needed a cushion. Again, I realized I couldn’t do this by myself. I called my mom and she helped me make a pattern so I could upholster the cushion. Months after I started, the chair was finally finished.
I realized that the work of restoring is costly. My chair may have been only thirty dollars to start but it took the labor of four people, the cost of citrus stripper, industrial stripper, mineral spirits, gloves, brushes, sandpaper, hydrogen peroxide, screws, stain, shellac, foam for the cushion, and fabric to finish this project. I am quite sure I could have bought a new chair for less.
You may be asking if it was worth it. Yes! A thousand times, yes! This is by far my favorite piece of furniture I own. The things I love about it may surprise you. I chose to keep the rocker rail that had been chewed on and just smoothed it out. It reminds me of my love of animals and that the person who owned this chair before me must have had a furry friend too. I sanded the chair smooth, but I didn’t remove the chips and divots. There is a depression in the wood right where you set your hand. I imagine the mama before me rubbing that cavern in the wood as she rocked and worried about her babies. I know that I will continue to rub that spot as I stay up late waiting for all my littles to make it home safely. Brand new surely would have been easier, but you can’t buy character.
One of the things that I love about God is that He loves doing a new thing.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” Isaiah 43:19.
There are multiple verses in the Bible that talk about God doing a new thing. However, when He talks about doing a new thing, He isn’t referring to starting with a new thing. He is working with the same worn-out, sinful people, but He is doing a new thing in them. I will forever now have the image of restoring furniture in my mind. My rocking chair is not new, but it was made new. It was restored. Transformed and perfect does not mean without scars. Too many of us are embarrassed by our scars, covering up and trying to pretend that they don’t exist. Instead, what if we looked at them as a reminder of the work that God has done and is doing in our life?
Jesus is perfect and yet after the resurrection, Jesus’ glorified body still had scars! He used his scars to prove to His disciples that it was really Him.
“ ‘See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet” Luke 24:39-40.
I value the rocking chair I restored far more than any new piece of furniture because I know all the work that went into it. I’m sure God delights in every beautiful newborn that is born, but how much more do you think He delights in a repentant sinner? I think our value in a “new thing” needs to change. The transformational work God is doing in your life is a new thing. It is Hard. Ugly. Work. You can’t judge the work midway through completion. It is meant to be done in community, and if you are thinking it is better to do it “all by myself,” you will only slow the process. The end result of submitting to the Master Craftsman will be complete restoration. With a value worth far more than precious gold or silver. Scars and all.