My Prayer List for My Children – Reverence

Greetings Dear Reader,

I remember watching my Grandfather plane a large piece of tiger oak in his earthy basement woodshop.  After every stroke of the plane he would step back and examine the effect.  He explained to me that the wood had a beautiful pattern in it and he wished to take off enough of the surface to bring out that pattern.  He went on to explain that this piece of wood was taken from the land he owned on a lake.  A lightning strike had felled the tree. He had counted the rings at seventy three years, most of them good ones. 

He was preparing the large piece of wood to be the replacement top of a dresser for family member.  I can still remember the smell of the wood.  I can still recall the beauty of the shavings as the fell to red clay basement floor.

What I remember the most about that day was the reverence with which my Grandfather treated the wood.  His ongoing conversation with me as I sat on the steps and watched him was also punctuated with an ongoing conversation with God as well.  He would remark to God how beautiful a certain line of grain was.  He would thank God for allowing him to find the downed tree and remark how well the mill had fashioned the boards from it for him.  As he made each stroke he would whisper for God to guide his hand. 

The piece looked beautiful once it was finished and mounted on the dresser.  The beauty that remained in my spirit was my Grandfather’s reverence for God and God’s creation.  It is one of those things that seem fading and rare in our world.  I pray that I revere the things I should and am a good example of this to my Children.  I pray that they hold a reverence for God that surpasses even my Grandfather’s.   

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store