refinishing

i've been working on stripping a piece of furniture and then staining it. the piece was a hand-me-down that i have been meaning to re-do for a few years, but our city dwelling lacked the space for projects of this caliber. here we are a year and a half into residing in our "new" abode... and i'm just getting around to it.

first, i should tell you a little bit about the piece. it is a solid wood cabinet probably built sometime between 1930 and 1940. it's pretty basic, but does have some nice beveled edges on the front. (you can tell by my description, that this is not my area of expertise.) somewhere along the way, it was painted cream. the hardware was replaced and some pretty modern, sleek, brushed silver handles replaced whatever it once had. with time, the cream paint began to yellow in certain patches. one of the feet looks like it might have been damaged in a move, as it is missing a pretty sizable chunk of wood. it wobbles a little bit. and while it might not necessarily be the best piece of furniture to refinish, there is something about it that i love. there is also a lot to be said for the amount of money we will save in refinishing it instead of replacing it. and so it became a candidate for the refinishing process.

right before i started the process, i became a little gun shy. not really knowing what lies beneath the paint is a little scary and as soon as you apply the first drop of stripper, there is no going back. it made me pause and ask myself if i really wanted to commit the time and effort into this piece. but i took that first step and began down the road of refinishing. the process is quite tedious. first, you paint on a stripping chemical. after letting it sit for 30 minutes, you take a plastic putty knife and scrape. this process is repeated a mind numbing amount of times. and it isn't a pretty process, either. it is up to your elbows, dirty, toxic work. with each application of stripper, you can watch the layers of paint bubble up and soften a little bit. and with each scraping, more and more of the paint eventual surrenders and loosens up a bit.

eventually, you are left with a really ugly piece of furniture. it is mostly free of the paint, but it is covered with residue from the stripping chemical and there are little spots of paint that just refused to loosen and globs of paint that somehow became hardened to the surface. and through all of the muck, you can kind of see what lies beneath.

this is when the "clean-up" process begins. basically, you apply another chemical and then go to town, scrubbing off the nasty. again, it is stinky, laborious work that requires a lot of sweat and arm muscle to see your way to the end. oh, my arm would ache after each treatment. this time, with each treatment, a little bit more beauty is revealed. each time, it gets a little bit closer to clean. and then suddenly, you are left with a "naked" piece of wood, put back into it's original state- the way it was designed to be.

i started this process in august before we left for the beach. i moved the base of the piece back into my living room last night. the drawers and cabinet doors are still a work in progress. this has been quite a time commitment for such a simple piece. and yet, when i look at the almost finished piece, i smile. i am delighted with the result and know that it is the perfect vessel for storing my china in, while also looking chic. it is simple, beautiful and restored.

as i scraped and scrubbed layer after layer, my mind began to drift. i began to compare myself to the wooden chest. i began to think of it in terms of my relationship with my saviour. once upon a time, i was born (with sin thanks to my ancestors adam and eve). and at that time, i was in my most raw and untouched state. through the years, i began to cover myself with the layers of paint. with each choice i made independent of God's will for me, created thicker layers and embellishments on my heart (the handles, the nick in the leg, the stains).

and then one day, i decided to become restored. i made a choice to walk away from the layers of paint and to walk towards the greatest refinisher that there is. i chose a life with Jesus. i liken it to the moment i put on the first application of stripper. and each time i read my bible, each time i talk to God, each moment that i open my heart to Him i am applying the next application. and that putty knife, while that is just like the Holy Spirit. without it, the chemicals can't do their job. you can put all the chemical you want onto the surface, but without the opening of the heart and allowing the transformation to take place, nothing changes. but oh, when you allow the Holy Spirit to work, those layers begin to shed. you will certainly be restored.

and just like my chest, i don't look for a likely candidate for restoration. i am filled with flaws and i am sure in many people's opinion, God would be better off just getting someone new to fill the purpose that He had planned for me. i have missed the mark so many times. but just like my desire to see this piece be made anew, God desires that for me... for you... for each person that He has created. He doesn't want to leave us at the curb and go out and replace us, He wants us to be the person He designed us to be. He has a role for each of us, a specific purpose, and if we are willing to let Him, He will meet us right where we are. isn't that beautiful? in spite of our flaws He LONGS for us to be restored.

it doesn't happen over night, and it doesn't happen if you don't stick with it. with each application of God's word, and with each penetration of the heart that the Holy Spirit is waiting eagerly for, you see shavings of your layers falling away and you see the beauty of His design unfolding. i am a work in progress. i have a long way to go, but i long for the day when i am face to face with The Father and i am fully restored. it won't happen in this lifetime, i am a human that fell with the whole race, but this process is worth all of the effort.