My wife, Jan, inherited the DNA of her father. He was a missionary who built churches and seminaries in Central America. Jan is a very feminine woman – a woman who caught my eye and captured my heart over 50 years ago. There are some Christmases when Jan would prefer a power tool to a bottle of perfume. She still gets the perfume, but also a new tool gifted to her for her next project.
Last month, Jan took on a new project. She wanted to lay down new flooring in the spare room of our outbuilding. She said, “This is something I want to do.” I offered my awkward help – mainly my muscle and a quick fix that doesn’t work – to which she smiled and said, “I’ve got this!” I knew she “had it” because our home has been filled with her excellent work, including custom bookcases and trim work. Her dad would be proud to see the evidence of his lingering DNA at work.
We were in search of the appropriate material for the new floor. We found just what we wanted in a used lumber warehouse. Its former life was the wood panels used in the last century to build a movable set of bleachers.
As I was loading the panels of this newfound treasure into our truck, I noticed the gum kids had smashed against the underside of the panels while watching a high school basketball game. The panels had shoe marks, evidence of their continued use. I imagined the first kiss of a young couple stolen beneath the bleachers. What we purchased were the remains of a season of human history. It added value to our purchase.
The wood panels reminded me of a history that we had cleaned and were now repurposing. They were ready to be installed on our floor as a fresh slate for the remaining years of our lives. These newly cleaned and installed pieces of wood will take on our history and someday be left behind for those who will someday occupy our home and wonder who it was that left behind the evidence of their lives in a place we call “Elkinsville.”
Isaiah wrote, “Remember the former things, those of long ago” (Isaiah 46:9). We are all laying down the floor of our history, hoping future generations will remember the lives we lived as they walk upon our history, hoping the evidence we leave behind is Godly and true.
The history of all our lives will become a testimony to future generations of what it means to follow the Lord. Every thought and every deed will leave behind the evidence of our existence. We need to invest wisely in what we choose to leave behind. It will leave a mark.
Powerful metaphor and timely lesson, Garris!
Thanks for a great post – again!