The Old Man, At It Again 7/24/2018

Good Morning,

Well it's the last of my Door County White Christmas Coffee until later this year. Soon it will be fall and I see some Door County Maple Coffee in that picture. Now hold these two thoughts. It will help you with restoring relationships. Read on.

Communicate Well:

Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry.– James 1:19

Have Patience:

Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.– Romans 12:12

Last night the weather was perfect to begin working again on refurbishing some antique furniture. So after a quick dinner I retreated to the garage, cranked up my music and started to work. I wasn't alone that's for sure. Our Springer Spaniel Gibbs stayed with me the whole night until the mosquitoes chased us inside for a shower and a big glass of ice cold sweet peach tea.

While the varnish was drying on a table that has given this old tinkerer some grief, I started on refurbishing some door knobs and old silverware. So before I knew it the evening had passed. When we came in from the garage Rene said she was glad that we came in. She was just about ready to come out and chase the old man and his furry partner into the house to get some rest.

Just before bed and after our prayer time, Rene opened up and started to talk about my evening. She told me how she had looked into the garage a couple times and heard me singing along with the music. She said it was nice to see me fixing things that are old and were almost worthless until we chose to bring them home and make them useful again. Rene explained that when she looked out into the garage it was easy to see that I was at peace, content and happy.

Now what does this have to do with anything and you?  Not too much, but this little tidbit of knowledge might be valuable. Restoring things takes work and the results can be awesome. This table was driving me crazy, but I stuck with it. We are half way finished and it is looking good. Friends there are times when we need to restore relationships and it takes a lot of work. Then there are some set backs to the restoration process and we would want to quit. The hot humid weather we have been experiencing stopped me for awhile, but this old man had to get back at it. If we give up on restoring relationships and quit, we will never see what they could have been. This old table won't ever be new again, and Rene and I like to leave some of the dents in the wood to give it a weathered look. Relationships can't always have all the dents removed but a fresh coat of love, like a good varnish makes the dents less noticeable. No, some relationships will never be new again, but they can be better or as good as they can get. Like our table will never be new again, it will be as good as it gets. The family will gather at that table to eat pasta and all that hard work will be worth it. Why would we want anyone to miss being there because we didn't work hard to restore a relationship?

Think about it. Is there a relationship in your life that needs a "refinish"?

Marty