For many years a small, dark, close grained, wooden off cut had been kept in my workshop. It was too small to be of much use, so it just lay in the bottom of the “scrap box”.
Then during a quiet period in “lockdown”, I decided to make some hand held crosses. The “useless” piece of wood sprang to mind.
Soon the work bench was littered with rasps and files and after several hours of work the new hand-held crosses took shape.
It was a long, slow, but infinitely rewarding experience. The transformation from a “useless” piece of timber to a shaped polished cross resting in my hand reminded me of the prayer “Jesus Master Carpenter”.
Lord Jesus, Master Carpenter of Nazareth, on the Cross through wood and nails you wrought our full salvation: Wield well your tools in this, your workshop, that we who come to you rough-hewn may be fashioned into a truer beauty by your hand; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, world without end. Amen. -Roger