My Life as an Old Wooden Pallet

My husband has recently developed an interest in building furniture and accessories out of discarded pallets and wood scraps. I love that he has found a hobby that gives him satisfaction.

Here is a pile of wooden pallets we have at our place at the moment:

They're not too much to look at, are they?

After they have served their purpose to package, store or transport goods, they are potentially thrown into the scrap heap. They can become an eye sore, a waste of space.  However, with a bit of time, attention and creativity, there is more to these poor old, discarded pallets than meets the eye. When someone sees the potential in an old pallet, when they make an effort to take it home and work with it, wonderful things can happen.

 

From what I have heard, the most time-consuming and frustrating part of working with pallets is breaking them apart to get them ready to use. My poor husband has recently broken an important part of one of his tools due to some hidden nails in the pallet. (He has been running about to different shops to try and find the replacement parts he needs, so he can keep going with his current project.)

 

After he has broken the pallets apart, they are more of a mess and look more like rubbish than before he started.

 

There doesn't look to be much potential in that pile of rubble, does there?

My clever and creative husband will reach into that pile of 'junk' with a particular project in mind. He sees each piece of wood for its potential.

He first started by making practical little things to help combat the storage problem in our very tiny home. He made a small ledge to sit the television on, creating space underneath for other things. Upon request, he made a shelf for one of our sons to store his shoes and hats.

He made this handy shelf to perfectly fit on our kitchen bench, giving extra storage for small, but important, things.

 
He worked with our sons over a few days over a long weekend making a beautiful and sturdy coffee table.

We love this beautiful and rustic piece: partly because we know how much love was put into it during its creation, but also because it has been genuinely useful.

He even surprised us all, after purchasing a router, by starting to make beautiful signs for our home.

What a lot of wonderful things have come from that old pile of pallets and wood scraps!

The humble pallet has taught me a very valuable life lesson, too. In all honesty, sometimes I feel about as interesting and useful as an old discarded wooden pallet.

Sometimes I feel like I am being pushed and prodded into so many directions and broken apart just like the pallets. I often wonder, “Once my days of cooking, cleaning, tidying, sorting, organising, teaching, soothing, reminding, disciplining, helping, fixing (etc) are over, will there be any more use for me?” Or will I be a worn out mess, just like that pile of scrap rubble?
 

My husband has a plan for each piece of wood that comes from the pile that resembles a scrap heap; and I know that God has a plan for my life, regardless of how messy, tired or broken it seems at times.
 

Perhaps his plan is for me to be practical, useful and sturdy like the furniture. Perhaps his plan is for me to be beautiful and inspiring like the sign. Perhaps it is a combination of both.

God doesn't see us for the pile of mess that we feel to be, but for our true potential. Whatever happens, we can trust that we are daily growing to be more valuable, useful and beautiful in the hands of our Creator.

Lessons from Life: Slow Down

I had about fifty ideas jotted down for this week’s blog post. I actually had four of those ideas half-written. Last night, I completed one full post for publication. This morning I woke up and knew I needed to write about a different topic altogether!

To quote Toad from a section of a Frog and Toad book that two of my speech students performed this year, “I feel down in the dumps.”

 

I get like this sometimes. About once a month, I think. The thing is: it took me literally fifteen years to figure out that there is a physiological reason I feel like this!

During these times, everything seems wrong. I feel like a failure in every area. Every ‘problem’ that I am facing is magnified one thousand times. I am tempted many times during the day to grab a block of chocolate, climb back into bed, pull the covers over my head, and stay there all day...just like Toad. Some days ,I have done just that! Unfortunately for me, it usually isn’t just one day that I feel like this. It usually lasts a few days; although, last month it lasted for nine days! Nine days where every day felt like I was running a marathon through a deep mud pit.

My diligent friends who are more in-tune with their bodies than I am, would probably have lots of ideas to help me through these times. I have tried different things in the past. Perhaps it is lazy and foolish of me to keep soldiering on when there probably could be some help for this problem. But sometimes the demands of life take away any motivation and energy to deal with a problem that just seems to be ‘part of being a woman’. When I feel like this, I couldn’t be bothered. When I am over this, I seem to forget just how hard it was.

I remember the advice I got from a respected older mother a few years ago when I described one of my hard days to her. She said something like: “It sounds as though you just need to take a breath, slow down and be kind to yourself today.” Now that I’m more aware of the fact that it’s my hormones wreaking havoc on days like this, I am able to follow that wise advice. In these instances, though, life goes on: my children still need to be educated; the dirty dishes still pile high on the sink; the dirty washing still overflows from the basket; there are still hungry mouths to feed; there are still children’s needs to be met; there are still bills to be paid, appointments to get to, little emergencies to tend to…etc.

 

‘Slowing down’ and ‘being kind to myself’ are two things I am learning to do. When hard days creep up on me when I least expect them, it’s easy to get frustrated with myself. I have gotten very angry with myself in the past for not being able to keep up with the demands of life. I would never treat another person with the disrespect that I have treated myself during these challenging days.

I know I will probably have lot of well-meaning friends who want to give me tips and advice to deal with these times, and I appreciate that. But I am not writing this for advice or sympathy; I am just writing it in my quest to be real. It’s not a topic I like to burden people with in my conversations, but it is a real battle I face each month.

But as I mentioned earlier, I am getting better! Even when the hard times last longer than I expect, I have learnt to slow down, eat plenty of good food, rest when I can, and take the time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life: hugging my children, having a laugh with them, having a coffee in the morning sunshine.

 

 

The life of a mother is like a constant battle. At times, it seems there is no rest and no place to hide. But, we need to be patient with ourselves, give ourselves a little kindness and grace sometimes and just….slow down.

I am reminded about a poem I learnt when I was a teenager.  I have never forgotten the  last verse:

“Quit! Give up! You’re Beaten!”
They still shout in my face,
But another voice within me says,
“Get up and win the race!”

I might take some time in the pit area today; but I will be up to face my race very soon!

Picture Credit

An Introduction

I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time. I read recently in “Blogging” by Jill Walker Rettbert that blogs have been around for about 15 years. They followed on from the old genres of personal diaries, autobiographies and memoirs. In today’s age of social media, anyone can have a go, share who they are and become a writer. It is my hope that this blog will capture a little bit of who I am and may encourage other women and mothers along their journey of life.

 I first came across blogging five years ago. I found many inspiring blogs by Christian women. I would have an allocated time most mornings where I would sip my coffee and browse a few of my favourites. At first they would inspire me and give me ideas to improve my life (whether it be in regard to parenting in general, homeschooling, marriage, budgeting, housework or other housewifey pursuits.) My life was far from being so cookie cutter perfect. My children didn’t respond to these beautiful educational ideas and philosophies. My husband was different to the ones that other women described. I felt like a failure. After a time, I had to ban myself from reading them as they were making me depressed. The ones that I had chosen all painted this idyllic picture of perfection that I felt I could never reach. Over time, I have sporadically partaken in other blogs that have been recommended to me and found that many women do write in real, honest language that does indeed resonate with my crazy and very imperfect life.

Still, during my sabbatical from reading blogs, I developed a passion to write raw, gritty and real blog posts. That is what this blog is about. Those who know me personally see me as a good little girl with all her ducks in a row. So some of these posts may shock people! In fact, someone labelled me just on Friday night as being ‘pure’. “Don’t use that language around Alex; she’s pure.” It was a joke. They were my friends, and I laughed along with them. My answer was, “Talk how you want. I have a good filter!” The thing is, people see me as having things together. The truth is: I do love God; I do read,  and try to obey the Bible; I did grow up in a Christian home; I have a genuine love for people; but I fail dismally every day! I’m never the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the perfect daughter, the perfect daughter-in-law, the perfect friend. I have made so many mistakes; but the thing is, I make a huge effort to learn from them. One of my life’s mottos is: I may be a slow learner, but at least I’m a learner. My mum and dad will heartily concur that I learnt my lessons painfully and slowly as a child; but looking back over the roller coaster of my life, I can see that I do learn. I am reading through Proverbs at the moment, and am loving all the references to wisdom. This is something I have prayed fervently for since I was a teenager.  Someone with a wise heart learns from her mistakes.

Even though it has taken me years to develop the confidence, I am finally starting to call myself a writer (after having written passionately all my life); but I don’t see myself as having anything unique. I don’t have a huge vocabulary; I don’t have a clever way with rhetoric; I’m not overly funny.  I use clear and simple language that is real and honest and displays my heart. I hope and pray my stories can help others along the way.

 

(At this stage I plan to add a new blog post each Monday.)