What Makes Something Precious?

Recognizing the value of our unique intentions

Read or Listen: Exodus 25:1-9, Exodus 36:1-7

In my house there are many pieces of furniture, and some are much more precious than others. In an auction, you could value every piece by the price that it fetched. But in regards to personal value, some of the simpler pieces are much more important. There’s a brass and Oak pedestal table base underneath our dining room table. I found it on the side of the road in Marblehead, Massachusetts, while my wife and I were celebrating our first anniversary. It didn’t look like much, but sanding, stain and polish brought it back to life. I made a top out of some reclaimed ash boards, with a border inlay of maple and mahogany. It was a tiny table top; about 2’x3’, but it fit between the diner style benches I made for our tiny dining area in our first apartment. That top has since been paired with a new base to become our current coffee table. The base stands below a bigger table top in our current dining area. This one was made in a single day, using all my techniques to dress up construction lumber as rustic furniture, out of old boards that I salvaged from the original but dilapidated deck that came with our home - a part of the first house we have owned as a family.