Full Potential

On the feast of St. Joseph we finished our third annual picnic table for the John Paul II school fundraiser. Hopefully the recipients will enjoy using it as much as we did building it.

This year’s work crew was from the forth and fifth grade classes. Starting at 0900: Baylie Biegler, Sawyer Daly, Micah Blare, Everett Pinkerton, McKenna Underburg, Addie Tate, Grace Morris, Arleena Rourke. 

This is probably the 15th table we’ve built for Catholic school fundraisers over the years.

As always, our key word was potential. This redwood has the potential to become a picnic table or fire wood. It’s up to us to bring out its best or not. It’s no different with our lives. We can become great or waste away. The Good News is that God wants to help us reach our full potential. But, just as this lumber took work to make it great, so with us. We have to cooperate with God’s grace in order to become fully who He has created us to be. 

The first step was to cut the octagon frame. Attention to detail begins at step one. We also don’t want to get in a hurry. That’s when trouble happens. Quality work takes quality time.

Nice and easy. 

Success. Table top completed. That’s worth doing the splits over. 

Next was the undercarriage. Less fun but super crucial. Placing the seats in the right order so that the grain lines up takes some planning out. 

Once that was done, it was time to situate the top. Team work. 

The boys were mainly in charge of the screwing and the girls the sanding. 

Umbrella, baby. 

No sharp edges allowed. 

Then came the day to treat the wood. Linseed oil was our preserver of choice. 

Easy to apply and reapply as time goes on. Sorry parents for the oil stains. The fun overcame the caution. 

The little girls were key in touching up the nooks and crannies. 

Bring it. 

Good stuff. St. Joe would be proud, and so is our Father in Heaven. No one appreciates our cooperation in creation like God the Father, Who gave us dominion over the world. With His help we become co-creators. Just as we saw a potential picnic table in this pile of lumber, so does He see potential greatness in all of us. But it is not magic. For this table to come together we had to work together, follow instructions, and persevere through the ups and downs. So too in life, if we want to be fully who God has created us to be we have follow His commandments and teachings, rely on other members of the Body of Christ, and never give up. If we cooperate with God's grace in this way we will all become the masterpieces He created us to be. Let's ranch.