Becoming who you were meant to be can be a painstaking process. Since my grandfather’s passing, I find myself learning life lessons through his former daily activities, deliberate and intentional in every way. My grandfather was a carpenter, and his hands were gentle but sure. His work showed me that becoming something great requires time, patience, and trust. (Three things of which I always seem to be short.) My grandfather taught me more in the quiet moments than I even realized while he was alive. With the memory of his slow but confident work, I can now appreciate the bittersweet art of becoming who you were meant to be.
I watched his hands intently for three decades. Graph paper was nearby, with scribbles and sketches on every spare piece. I saw him measure and lightly trace with a pencil countless times. His hands knew what they were doing, even if he didn’t know what he was yet making. Sometimes he began to create just to be somewhat surprised at the end product. Regardless if he started out with a carefully laid plan or was winging it to see what would pop out, the process was always sound.
My grandfather always saw the potential for beauty in scrap wood. Honestly, he saw the beauty in scrap wood’s raw form, but in addition and beyond that, he saw the possibilities of transformation. All things could become something different, when their first purpose had seen its completion. A discarded split plank could become a shelf for trophies. Old flooring tossed aside during a renovation could become a hope chest for his great-granddaughter. A knobby branch could be cut and smoothed to become a Lazy Susan, one that delicately spins in his granddaughter’s cabinet, politely holding her molasses, honey, and cooking oils. A new dream for something otherwise forgotten.
It’s true with us as well, though we rarely benefit from knowing the process will produce greater things; during the pain points, our brains don’t work in a way that grants us that bigger-picture view. Yet each of us holds something that could be either discarded or divined into something great. All things can become something different, when their first purpose has seen its completion.
As we look back on the old year, it seems fitting to recognize the beauty of our own transformation throughout 2023. As we embark on the new year, it seems fitting to imagine the possibilities for 2024. Improvement, growth, achievement…these are awaiting us in the new year.
All things will become something different, when their first purpose has seen its completion. In 2024, what will you become?
