Reclaimed wood and furniture has become the decorating route for so many of my friends in recent years. Hit shows like Fixer Upper, Flea Market Flip, and American Pickers have inspired us all to use resources that are just right at our fingertips. Things we already have or can easily find that can be repurposed for a new use and design. 

Take a look at how my sister Hannah is displaying her quilts!

And my sister Amy and her husband made these BEAUTIFUL pieces out of pallet wood.

In my family, we have wood. Lots and lots of wood.

In recent years, my dad began experimenting with simple building projects and –surprise!—he was so good at it that he built my sister’s cabinets in her new kitchen!

I’d say his “experimenting” worked out well. He now has a workshop where he can craft whatever he needs or wants to build.

My dad has a custom-built woodworking shop where he is using reclaimed wood to make…everything!

My granddad has been a craftsman for years. Birdhouses, cabinets, various classroom furniture for me…and all the teachers at my school. We dream it up, and he builds it.

Recently, some friends of mine came over for a party and noticed my beautiful dining room table. “My granddad made that for me out of barnwood,” I proudly shared. And then, we trekked over to my sister’s new “farmhouse” and ooh’ed and aahh’ed over the beautiful wooden treasures that she had in her home. The farm table, the cabinets my dad made, the wooden deck table, the barn door for her pantry, and even the wooden ladder that holds her quilts. Finally, my friend’s daughter stated the obvious…

“This family sure does love their wood.”

And I realized it’s true! We love some wood over at our place! 🙂

And then the sweet little girl’s  mother so graciously put it in another way.

“They don’t just love it because it’s wood, they love it because it’s reclaimed. They know where it came from. They know the story behind it. That’s what makes it special.”

Bingo.

This table? It was my granddad’s and his dad’s, and it sat in the old barn for years and years. It used to be a “hog-butcherin’” table. Also, I think back in the day (many years ago), there may have been some babies born on it. No lie.

No distressing was needed to give this table its character.

This beautiful countertop and shelvesmade by my dad? They came from a tree out in the yard.

This dining table? It came from a barn that’s almost 100 years old. A barn loft that stays pretty dark and empty most of the time these days, except for a cat who wants to be left alone and maybe an occasional raccoon.

This sliding barn door also came from old barnwood.

Anything can be reclaimed. It usually takes extra time, attention, and care to take what was old and dirty to make it new and beautiful. But when the master carpenter or artist spies a hidden treasure in something, he or she is ready to put in the hours and devotion to make that treasure wonderful.

My dad and granddad both have an uncanny eye for creating beautiful things out of old wood.

Anything can be reclaimed.

Anything. And anyone.

You have a Master who can reclaim any part of you that you feel is broken. Anything that is unseen, dark, or distressed, He can make beautiful. He uses the distressed places in your life to create character and strength in you.

There is nothing too old, too long forgotten. There is nothing too hard to transform.

There is no one that cannot be transformed by the Master.

He transformed a barren couple into the father and mother of generations (Genesis 11-25).

He transformed an unloved girl named Leah into a woman who was loved enough by God to be included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Genesis 29).

He transformed a harlot into someone who helped God’s army…and she also has a place in the lineage of Jesus (Joshua 2).

He transformed a shepherd boy into a mighty warrior, then into a beloved King, and then from a adulterer and murderer to a man after God’s own heart (1st, 2nd Samuel, Psalms).

He transformed a cowardly runner into a brave prophet (Jonah).

He transformed a group of ordinary, rough-around-the-edges, impulsive men who were fishermen and tradesmen into disciples of Jesus…preachers, teachers, world-changers.

And He can transform you.

You are ready to be reclaimed. You may already be His, and He has never let you go, but give yourself over to Him to be reclaimed for His purpose! You are never too anything  to be restored by the Master Carpenter.

And they scoffed “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary…” (Mark 6:3)

When He walked this earth as one of us, Jesus was a carpenter. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. The very ones who uttered those words in Mark surely found out quickly what kind of Carpenter He was. He went from fixing broken pieces of wood to fixing broken lives and that’s what He still does.

And no one fixes us like Jesus.

Be reclaimed today!

Jewels (When He Cometh) Arranged by Paige Givens, 2015