The Carpenter's Heart

HOT OFF THE PRESS, A BRAND NEW STORY. ENJOY....

Pine, cedar, birch and many other fragrant woods intermingled their breath throughout the small workshop. Shavings littered the floor, discarded waste torn from the creations of beauty that were etched into the wood by the carpenter's strong hands. Everything about him was strength, yet a gentle sort of knowing infused him and every piece he created. Sailboats, crosses, jewelry and keepsake boxes, little wooden balls, clowns, cows and many other love filled creations covered his shop and enveloped the hearts of those who got to carry them home protectively in the burlap and twine.

The Carpenter began early each day on his knees thanking the good Father for the gift of his craft and the miracle that was held in each piece.

Today was like any other. He finished his prayer, dusted off the sawdust from his warn pants, and went straight to work. He lit the oil lamps and began searching for two pieces of wood. Satisfied, he went to his work table and set to work. The woods he chose were less than beautiful. They were rugged with shagged edges an gnarled curves. To a common man's eye there would be nothing derived that would be of any beauty from these two pieces of driftwood. But, the carpenter saw the beauty that was there and set to peeling away the layers that would reveal the masterpiece.

Sweat dotted his forehead and his shoulders and fingers ached while all his heart was poured into his work. Tears began to pool in his eyes reflecting his labor of love. Once the painful task of whittling was finished and the angered shavings curled and rived on the floor no more to diminish the splendor of the creation that trembled beneath the carpenter's fingers he set out on the next task.

He set to sanding the pieces, working off the rough edges, making them smooth and round. He closed his eyes and caressed the pieces of wood with his calloused fingers to make sure that there was no splinters or sore spots left. He sanded a little more and once satisfied he set the pieces down to get a better look. Two smooth round halves set before him smooth an flowing seemlisly and he smiled at the work that had been accomplished, but the masterpiece was far from done.

He took strong wood glue and lathered a sheen coat on the inner walls of both pieces of wood. Setting the pieces together was the tricky part. It was easy for the pieces to slip or the glue not to set right. He set his back squarely in his chair, pulled up a magnifying mirror over to the wood and set to work. He gently and firmly slid the pieces together, looking under the magnifying glass to make sure every edge was flush with the other, then very carefully he set the two pieces of wood in a vice, small amounts of glue oozed up form the pressure, and the carpenter left the piece to meld overnight.

The sun droplets sprinkled through the window and fell softly on the vice and wood. The carpenter held the object with his left hand and released the pressure by turning the crank with his right. Taking the object back to the work table he brought the rough sandpaper out and began to remove the heavy layer of glue that had set up on the tender wood. Working hard, he cleaned the object until it fairly shined.

He sat back looking at the two pieces of wood that had now become one and took a small chisel from his workman's drawer and began to carve a seamless cross in the center of the fused wood. He added a thin coat of glaze to his workmanship and set it in the windowsill to dry. A few hours and the heart he had created from the two pieces of wood sparkled in the afternoon sun.

"Rap-tap-tap!" A knock came softly on the door. The door swung wide and a young couple stood in silhouette beneath the door frame. "Come in! Come in!", the carpenter said with a warm smile holding the heart behind his back. "Is it ready yet", the young woman asked. Smiling, the carpenter pulled his hand from behind his back and placed the object in the young woman's gloved hand. She smiled tears glistening in her eyes. "It's perfect!", the young man said wrapping his arm around his fiance. "Thank you so much!"

The young couple safely carried their beautiful heart home in burlap and twine, while the carpenter set out on his next masterpiece.

- A representation of two becoming one in a love triangle with the Lord in the center through marriage.