Sunday Morning Message - “Is it better to have loved or lost..?”
Once upon a time a hardworking older man came upon some blessings in his life. One of which was the use of a friend’s wood shop. He had stumbled into his now creative life and once again he knew not what lie ahead. He was passionate and on, what seem to be, a mission. Not exactly clear on the destination but he was moving and sometimes even forward. He embraced the wood shop completely and flourished in many ways. He began to make a statement about who he was, what he saw and that’s when he became specific. He had no audience and no reason to judge. What was simply was and he was in heaven. After about 2 years of honing his skills, he once again stumbled into a moment where he would have a great opportunity to say a very powerful word: yes. He was being given a tour of a brand new Spa. At the end of the tour the older man had discovered that they were ready to open except they needed something on the walls in the Spa. At that moment the older man saw it completely. The finished job: the frames, the art the color the size. At that moment he knew he had something to offer that truly seemed to fit. Seem to make sense. The people ate the Spa agreed.
As he drove away he was reminded of the quote “Be careful what you wish for”. He had been passionately pursuing his skill, his art had been improving and he knew he was saying yes to something he knew that he could do. But, had no idea how to do it. That is when it seemed the shop, his friend and his friend’s knowledge would begin shaping, changing and challenging the older man. But at his age he knew how he worked. If he was passionate about something it was not a question of how, just when. In a little over a month’s time he put an extra 200 hours into the job, above & beyond his normal work and life responsibilities. But he stayed focused, balanced and he saw the finish the whole time. A short 2 months later the older man returned to the Spa with forty framed photos. All the frames handcrafted by him. The old man’s wife made the trip with him when they installed the art. It took over three hours to hang them all throughout the huge Spa. When they were all done the wife told him that it was like a gallery for his art. The man, now with tears in his eyes, knew that whatever he had imagined would come of his art or his wood working, would have fallen way short of what stood in front of him at that moment. They held hands and walked through the Spa together. They walked slowly and really took in the moment; the accomplishment, the blessing, how great the older man felt sharing that with his wife and the sense of peace the older man felt. It was a great moment in his life.
A month after the installation of his art the older man was excited about getting back to wood working & photography just for the fun of it – no deadlines! He had trouble contacting his friend from the wood shop for about a month. Then one day the older man got an email from his friend at the wood shop. After reading the email the older man knew one thing: his days at the shop were over. He had to go to the shop and pick up his wood. The shop was closing. The older man thought about how hard he had worked, how much he had learned and how passionate he had become with his woodworking. Now, that was all over. What would he do? Where would he work from now? Would he ever be able to again??? These were the questions that filled his mind. He was sad, like losing a friend.
Shortly after that and some serious reflective time, the man and his wife were very at peace. With a little effort, the older man realized that God had blessed him with the use of a wood shop for 2 years. Just enough time to be confident enough to say “Yes” at that moment in the spa and be able to deliver on that. It was far better to “love & to lose than to have never loved…” The older man wife’s had reminded him that God does not bring us to a place and then forget about us. They knew that this door would close. It would be ok. And that another would open. They had faith.
The older man’s perspective became that if this was the worse thing that would happen to him; lose the use of a wood shop, he would be ok. He knew everything happened for a reason and he knew what a true blessing it really was in his life.
It is not always easy to see the good, but it is always there.
- based on a true story ;-D
If you ever get to the State Line of California & (a ½ hour out of) Vegas, stop into The Primm Hotel & Casino & check out the framed art work in the Spa - it;s mine! J
- tjd
