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I can do all things including Carpentry

miss_tpa

At the end of 2011, I had bought a 3 piece set of stools. When the parcel arrived, reality hit me that I had to assemble the thing myself. I didn’t have time for that, and I kid you not, I didn’t assemble it till the second half of 2012. There are many things I am excited to do, DIY especially assembling things is definitely not one of those.


In my head, its complicated, I don’t really know these things i.e., I don’t have DIY skills. A lie my head is telling me because when my sink was blocked, after pouring all sorts of things down the drain, I dismantled that u-tube thing and cleared the blockage, and the sink was working. Another time, I went to put the tv on and it just wouldn’t come on. “Something” told me check the fuse and replace it. This was all before You-tube university started taking enrolments on different courses.


I had never changed a fuse in my life and even in school where I may have done this in physics, I don’t think we did and if we did, I was not paying attention because physics for me was hard. I unscrewed the plug, took out the fuse, went to the supermarket and looked for its twin. I went back home, put the new fuse in, screwed the plug back together and the tv has worked ever since. That was 2011 or 2012. I was so proud of myself.


There is a pain of living alone in that you don’t have the luxury of having someone doing the things you don’t like or don’t know how to. There is also a joy and pride in living alone because through those maintenance issues, I become a self-certified plumber and electrician. The 3-piece stool set, just stayed in the box and I would see it everyday because it was just there in the sitting room. One weekend I wasn’t going anywhere and was bored and decided to put it together.


I followed the instructions carefully like it was surgery and took my time because I didn’t want to make any annoying mistakes, like assembling it to step 8 then realise I missed step 7, now I have to dismantle the whole thing and start at step 2. After some time, I finished it albeit, the smallest stool had one wonky loose-ish leg, but if you stood it straight, you wouldn’t know. The stool has survived like that to this day. I was so, so proud of myself. This one thing I had procrastinated on because I felt I didn’t know how to do; I had finally completed. I was now a fully-fledged carpenter on top of my other self-proclaimed accolades.


I didn’t do any assembling for many years. In my convalescing period with Long Covid, when my mom was living with me, I had bought a trolley and she had assembled it for me. At that time there was no way I could do such a thing, that would have been too much for my body. The testimony I was going to write was for one thing but having written that last sentence, I’ve realised there are 2 parts to this testimony. Actually 3.


3 weeks ago, I bought a desk-table. When I was buying it, there was the option to pay £35 and someone would come and assemble it for you. It was so tempting but I felt it would be something I could do and the seller said it was simple and quick to assemble. The parcel arrived and I had planned to put it together on Sunday. Sunday is my day for doing things like that and reading those many books I keep buying. I saw a meme that said buying books is one hobby and reading books is another, they are not the same. Hear, hear!


That Sunday, I was decluttering my room and by the time I was done it was late and I knew assembling the desk would take me long. I don’t know how I figured it would take me long when I hadn’t even opened the box to see how long the instruction manual said it would take. The next Sunday, I didn’t do it, can’t remember why but in all these two occasions that was just procrastination talking. There was time to do it. The next Sunday, I was at a conference, finished late in the evening, my allergies were killing me, and it was raining.


This Sunday just gone; I decided I am going to do it. A reminder on my phone said there was a recording I needed to watch as it was the last day it would be accessible. There were 3 recordings, each an hour. That would take me till evening time, but I was determined to assemble the table, because it would make things easy for me. When I finished watching the recordings, I talked to God and said how I was dreading that task. I just don’t like DIY stuff. In the prayer, I remembered two things. A sermon I heard years ago, said my duty is to believe and Gods’ duty is to figure and execute. I also remembered Jesus was a carpenter, so if I was asking for help, I was asking the Pro of all Pro’s in everything, and this one here of carpentry was an extra expertise for him.


Jesus si you’re a carpenter, and I believe you are well able to do anything, I am in your workshop, please help me.” I laid out all the contents carefully because this was surgery. Have to get it right. The instruction said 30 minutes. I knew that wouldn’t be the case for me and I was ok with that. When I started, I realised something I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot from everywhere including my clients. "You just have to start." When I began, I started making steady progress, I would check in with The Carpenter of Carpenters when I was stuck and after 1 hour 24 minutes (I timed it) I was done, the work was good, and it was not hard at all. That’s the first part of the testimony.


The second part of the testimony which I didn’t realise till I started writing this, is the miracle of being able to do this work, when I am not 100% recovered. There are so many things, I couldn’t do 3 years, 2 years even 1 year ago and now, I can see truly, truly the tide is constantly changing. The Carpenter indeed has been busy in his workshop, fixing and reassembling this body of mine and getting it restored to its factory setting of fearfully and wonderfully made. And even as the body recovers, it is still, fearfully and wonderfully made. Glory to God for healing in progress.


My constant theme in these last few testimonies is that nothing is happening out of luck or coincidence. I am in a phase of building my new health coaching practice and this exercise in assembling a small size table, is God’s way of reminding me that all things are working for my good even in the simplest of things. He cares about me from one spectrum where I am building small furniture, to the spectrum where I am building a new career, to the ultimate spectrum where I build my life to receive the eternal life he has promised out of his undying love, which he showed when this Carpenter of mine, died for me, on something he had every skill to build! OOOWI!


I have dreaded assembling DIY stuff, because of statements which are not even true, limiting beliefs. I have come across different DIY stuff and have done all of them. Nothing has defeated me. I didn’t think I could do them, but I did. God is trying to teach me that first of all, so long as he is with me, which he is hence Emmanuel, I can do all things, including carpentry. I can open my practice; build my clients and I have nothing to dread or worry about because NOTHING is too hard for him.


On top of that he will help me, just like he helped me with my table and all other DIY stuff. He will strengthen me and most of all he will make me Victorious regardless of what anyone says or the current conditions, because I can do all things through the Great Carpenter. On top of that he dresses the lilies, which are here today and, in the furnace, tomorrow, so me who is made in his image, the apple of his eye, knowing full well what I need, Won’t he do it!


God is Good, God is Great, God is the Ultimate Best!


Related Verses

Matthew 6:25-34

Deuteronomy 31:8

John 14:27

Psalm 73:26

2 Chronicles 2:17

Psalm 125:2

Philippians 4:6-7

Philippians 4:13

1 Chronicles 29:11-12

Romans 8:28

Ecclesiastes 3:11



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