Monday, August 28, 2017 – Jared Willyerd, Brown House, Browning Gun, Family Living Center

This morning the spiritual thought was given by FM’s Paint Shop Director, Jared Willyerd. He showed us a broken piece of old wood that was rotted, discolored, deteriorating and had nail holes all over it. Bro. Willyerd said that his old broken, rotted worthless piece of wood was on its way to the garbage to be thrown away. He explained that “In the master’s hand” the old piece of wood could be shaped into something nice, something useful. 

That’s when Bro. Willyerd pulled out a couple of ball point ink pens. He held them for everyone to see as he explained, he used the old discarded wood to make the barrel of the ink pens. In the master’s had the wood was turned on a lathe, cut, shaped, sanded, finished and polished. Now the old piece of wood is a useful thing of beauty.

 

Bro. Willyerd went on to draw the analogy between our hardships and trials that have made us broken and useless. But the touch of the Master’s Hand can restore each of us to a useful, functioning part of our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom. 

 

Bro. Willyerd went on to explain that the old broken and discolored piece of wood weren’t just any pieces of wood. The 170 year old rotted boards in the leaky roof of the Carthage Jail made the roof unsafe. The whole roof had to be removed and replaced. When the old roof was torn off, the old boards were being sent to the trash.  Bro. Willyerd and others rescued the old wood and made useful object of memorabilia out of them like picture frames, clock faces and ink pen barrels. As a gift, Bro. Willyerd gave Sis. Johnson and I one of the ink pens he made using the old discarded Carthage Jail Wood.

This morning and afternoon was a very productive work day. We weeded, deadheaded, blew and cleaned the Women’s Garden, the Visitor’s Center, the sidewalks and flowerbeds at Browning Gun and the Family Living Center.