Lessons From My Kitchen Island
I had done it! After weeks of work, I had finally completed the base cabinet for our new kitchen island. All that was left was to finish the top. My parents had gifted us a beautiful piece of butcher block made from acacia wood to serve this purpose. Mollie and I loved its different shades and grains. So, we decided on a clear coat polyurethane that would allow the natural beauty of the wood to show through. There was only one problem---I’m terrible at applying polyurethane.
Recognizing this, I decided to seek the advice of my dad who has been woodworking for almost his entire life. He suggested a type of oil-based polyurethane that wipes on with a cloth. Contrary to his suggestion, I had been leaning towards one that was water-based and required a paint brush to apply. I read several reviews and came to the conclusion that the brush-on polyurethane was the way to go. The reviews made it sound pretty easy. I could not have been more wrong.
It was a disaster from the get go. With every coat I applied, the amount of brush marks increased exponentially. My butcher block top was not so beautiful anymore. After the fifth coat, I was so frustrated that I decided to take a few days off from the project. But every time I walked out in my garage, I was confronted by it. I kept hoping that it was not as bad as I thought, but a quick glance was all it took to give me a reality check.
After a few more days of looking at this flawed finishing job, I knew what I had to do---flip the top, sand the edges, and start over on the other side with the polyurethane my dad had recommended in the first place. It was a great deal of extra work but it was worth it. The wipe-on poly was as easy to use as my dad had said and the finished product was just what I wanted.
Once I had completed the island, I realized that the lessons I learned during the making of this island could just as easily be applied to my life:
Listen to my Father. I should’ve listened to my dad and his 60+ years of woodworking experience. But I wanted to do things my own way. Similarly, there are many times I choose to ignore God the Father when He tells me how best to live my life. I want to do things my way instead of realizing that He knows what works best and what doesn’t.
Don’t be too proud to admit my mistakes and start over. With my kitchen island, I didn’t want to admit I had made a mistake with my choice of poly. In fact, I applied 5 coats somehow thinking that things would get better with each coat. In reality, they got worse. Then, I got frustrated and decided to ignore the problem for a few days. But I finally realized the problem wasn’t going away. It was only when I swallowed my pride, admitted my mistake, and flipped the top over that things began to improve. In the same way, it is important for me to admit my mistakes in life and realize that God allows me to “flip the top” as many times as I need.
Stay focused/ Don’t get distracted. After I finally admitted my mistake, I made the trek to Menards to purchase the wipe-on poly. During this excursion, I got sidetracked multiple times looking at all of the cool merchandise in Menards. I had to remind myself to focus on what I was buying so that I could get home and start fixing my project. It hit me that I often do this in my own life. I see something I need to improve upon. I start working on that but within a few days, I forget all about it because I’m distracted by so many other things. The solution is simple---stay focused.
My new island sits proudly in my kitchen now. It’s a great place to prepare and serve food and provides valuable storage for pots and pans. But it’s most important function may be that it serves as a reminder for me of lessons I learned the hard way.