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.