Six Hooks And A Crate

T

he old adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention” rings true just as it did the day the phrase was coined.  When we are in a pinch, when we really need something, when it seems we are at the end of our resources, that is just time we become creative and inventive.  Who hasn’t found themselves in the basement, the attic, or the garage, looking for a hammer, a nail, some twine, and anything else, in order to make something useful?  Some people, however, are far more creative with everyday-things than others.  They just seem to have the knack for taking the ordinary and making something extraordinary out of it.  My dad is just such a person!

In August of 2002, I moved into an apartment.  After five years of living in a dorm room, I was kind of excited to have my own place.  My parents were gracious to bring all my worldly possessions from North Carolina.  They spent weeks cleaning furniture, going through storage units, packing up kitchen utensils, books, sheets, towels, etc., and getting me ready to move into my new place.  They did all this without my assistance and I am eternally grateful for their willingness to help me.  Actually, they wouldn’t have had it any other way!

Finally, the big day came and I moved out of the dorm and into my apartment. Several friends came to help move all of my stuff from the trailer and the dorm room into my new home.  Everything went very well and we moved the entire contents into the apartment in a matter of just a few hours.  That’s when the fun really began!  Once all the boxes, crates, containers, books, pictures, and pieces of furniture were placed in the apartment, the task of arranging them and making a home began.  Within the space of a few short days, the apartment was finished, with all the pictures hung, all the utensils placed in the kitchen, and all the towels neatly folded in the linen closet.

That’s when I discovered just how prepared, versatile, and creative my dad could be.  Dad had brought an assortment of tools with him.  In addition to his drill, hammer, and screwdrivers, he also had a collection of nails, screws, bolts, tacks, hangers, etc. that proved invaluable!  Each time we needed to hang a picture or repair something, dad had just what we needed.  No matter what we threw at him, dad always rose to the challenge and found just the right screw, bolt, or nail to address the task at hand.

The best example I can share is the letter holder he made for me.  I needed a place to keep my letters, keys, unpaid bills, etc.  I mentioned that to dad and he jumped right on it.  All I had was a small wooden crate used to hold music CD’s.  Since I had a place to store my music, I no longer needed the crate and it was destined for the trash heap.  Dad, however, had another idea.  He took the crate, went to the toolbox, found six hooks, and in a matter of minutes he created a hanging letter holder with hooks to hold my keys. When I had no idea what to do, dad stepped in and took care of everything!

Our Heavenly Father works just the same way.  He knows all about the changes in our lives and he knows that moving from one place to the other can be stressful and chaotic.  God always stands ready to supply our needs, to take the ordinary things in our lives and make the extraordinary out of them.  He is always working, always creating, always providing for us when we don’t know what to do nor how to approach the difficult situations in our lives.  Our Heavenly Father is always working on behalf of His children, constantly meeting our needs and providing for every situation in life.

Sometimes we have no idea how God can use the broken, discarded, and neglected areas of our lives for any good purpose.  We cannot understand and we cannot see things from His perspective!  What we would throw away, God uses.  What we would overlook, he notices.  What we would consider junk, he sees as a treasure.  What we see as a difficulty and impossibility, he sees as an opportunity!  When we don’t know what to do, when we reach the end of our resources, when we are overwhelmed by life’s circumstances, God steps in.  He reaches into his toolbox and takes out his instruments and lovingly begins the process of transforming our lives, bringing wonderful order out of impossible chaos!

2 Corinthians 5:17 demonstrates this idea for us: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” What a wonderful promise.  God does not leave us among the empty hopes and broken dreams of our former lives.  Instead, He starts over, making something new and wonderful from the various items strewn across the floor of our lives.  He patiently and lovingly unpacks all that we have, all that we are, and all that we hope to be and he begins working.  He drives a nail here, places a screw there, and uses crates and hooks to create something completely new.  When he finishes, we have a new purpose, a new identity, and a new relationship with him.  Won’t you let Him work on you today?