He wanted to get hardwood, like really hard wood, so he went with hickory. Of course we got the cheapest we could find which was called "Character Grade" wood.
An orange "c" is written on each board which meant that it had a knot, or a rotten space, a crack, a split, discoloration etc. Half of all the wood we bought will be going in the burn bin, or in the re-cut it bin. The ones we use will have to be filled with wood putty ( a bunch of it)...................... then sanded............... stained ..............and sealed.
So our house is going to be re-arranged for the entire summer. The couched are stacked upside down (now used as a play fort for the kids) and the only thing in the living room is our dining table and chairs. Everything else is stacked on top of each other or crammed in random places.
I don't really like having my house in shambles and I realllly dont like looking at a half done project all the time! Why couldn't we just get pre-cut sanded stained beautiful perfect stuff and then have some nice handyman install it for us!! Wah!
But no, we got Character grade.... it is character building anyway.
But,... there is some part of me (the German part probably) that is just a tiny bit glad we rescued this discarded wood and are making it beautiful and useful.
It reminds me that we are all a little flawed, split, marred, marked up, janky, but Jesus the carpenter chooses to use us anyway, to make us beautiful, to let us be a part of something bigger. He has rescued us from the burn bin, written a "C" on our hearts to claim us as his own, and chosen to go the extra mile to redeem us.
So, I guess if I over-spiritualize it, and think of it this way it will help me keep a better attitude through this project. Maybe.
Thanks for joining my journey,
Deborah King
p.s.- have you ever had a "Character Building" house project? How did it go? did you survive? Let me know in the comments.