Layers of "stuff"

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon with a bowl of furniture refinisher and 0000 steel wool trying to cut through years of dirt and grime as well as old varnish and stain on a 1950's era waterfall cedar chest.  I happened on the chest in a furniture consignment shop last week where it sat among several coffee tables.  The unique shape and the size looked perfect to use as a 'coffee table' in my family room so after circling around it several times, checking out the inside as well as the side hidden compartments, and studying the grain of the wood I bought it.

Anyone that knows me well knows I have rather eclectic taste in furnishings.  I love anything old with character and actually enjoy the challenge of refinishing and restoring pieces to use in my house. This chest called me to take it home, clean it up and give it new purpose.  But of course that meant one more thing on the 'to do' list! 

Mick and I started working on softening up the finish on Tuesday afternoon but quickly ran out of refinisher.  Even after the first few minutes of removing the soft goop it was evident there was more beauty to be discovered under the layers of 'stuff'.  After hitting the home improvement store and restocking supplies of refinisher and a new pair of rubber gloves I set to work.  The longer I worked on it the more beauty was revealed.  Years of 'stuff' had really covered the beauty of the wood and the uniqueness of the design - a slow, unintentional building of dirt and dust building in the slight scratches and sticking to the finish built up an artificial cover. 

The back was a solid dark brown, not the color of the stain used on the rest of the cabinet.  It appeared that it had been painted to give a solid color for the back.  It took almost an hour to soften and remove the paint that was adhered to the original finish but it was well worth it to find the beautiful grain and colors of solid cedar.  While I worked on this area I couldn't help but think how this must be what we look like after years of living.  A few character scratches, some artificial coverings to hide what may be considered less than desirable, but mainly layers and layers of 'stuff' that cover us and our true beauty.  God can look at us and see through those layers but to really shine we need to work at softening the hard outer coatings and removing them, layer by layer, to reveal our true unique self.