A Little Elbow Grease

By August 16, 2017Stories

I decided to refurbish the old plane and spent hours one Saturday oiling and sanding off all the rust, sharpening the blade and I sanded and refinished the handle.  By the time I was finished it didn’t look brand new, but it did look awesome, at least to a carpenter.

I wanted to show Misheck my plane so I asked him to come see it one day.  He was amazed at the change that had taken place with that plane.  He loved the finish on the handle and how sharp the blade was.  I asked him which one he wanted now and he said he wanted that one.  I said not a chance.  I also went on to tell him what I’d been thinking about while I was working on it.  It made me think of Jesus and how He looks at us and works with us.  We are all like rusty, dull, bent tools, but when we let Him, Jesus lovingly works with us, scrapes away the hurts, the rust, He gives us people to help sharpen us, like iron sharpens iron and we become beautiful.  We become useful.  The process hurts sometimes.  It takes real work.  It can take a long time.  But it is so worth it.  I have found old planes in yard sales and taken hours to clean them up.  I believe that this is what Jesus has done, and continues to do, with me too.

Misheck didn’t get my hand plane that day, but…

Jeff Way

Author Jeff Way

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