I May Be Small

One day last week I when I finished some work in my shop, I decided to gather up some of the left over pieces and cut out the pieces for the small cabinet that was to go on the wall to the left of the vent above the stove. I didn't have time to assemble the pieces so I left that task for another day. The next morning after finishing up some planned events I decided to take time and build the small cabinet. Piece by piece, all 27 to be exact, went together just as planned. I still have to make the door and paint, but that will come later.

I set the cabinet aside and went to work on other cabinets, but my attention kept being drawn back to it as I saw an element of beauty in it. It was kind of cute with its small shelves and the crown molding on top. Then there was the character in the grain of the wood of its front. I decided to take a picture of it before I painted it and hung it on the wall with the rest.

As I looked at the picture and saw all the things around the cabinet, I realized how much of my life was expressed there. There is my table saw on the left which identifies my life with building things. Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed using my mind to design things and my hands to build them. I have designed and built four of my homes along with many other smaller projects.

On the right side of the picture is my tractor with over one thousand hours recorded on the hour meter. I have moved a lot of earth and mowed much grass with it. The tool in the corner is called a box scraper and is attached to the rear of the tractor and is used to move and level soil. I have moved many cubic yards with it as well as the bucket on the loader. The tractor connects me to my past farm life. As a teenager I used to combine wheat and harvest corn with my dad's self-propelled combine. Later in life I had the chance to operate some really big combines and tractors. Farming was hard work, but it was good work.

Hanging on the back wall is a scale model of my home in Tucson, AZ. My daughter and I built it for a project for a class she had in school. The top lifts off showing all the rooms inside.

The blue tank is a central vacuum system with pipes that go to several rooms in the house where Connie can hook up her vacuum cleaner to clean. It is features like this that are easy to install when you build your own house.

The picture also shows that my garage, my shop, is a mess and needs to be cleaned up. The picture also reminds me of how much I enjoy the life God has given to me. There have been plenty of trials and difficult times, but those God designed to use to develop my character to be more like his son Jesus.