Sacred handiwork

Saturday in the Third Week of Lent

May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us;
prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork.
Psalm 90:17

As I pull the rocking chair out of the attic, I realize it is more worn than I expected. The caned bottom has sagged, showing breaks in the woven strips. I will have to find someone to repair it.

My mind wanders to the caned-bottom chairs we sat on around our dinner table as I was growing up. I never thought of them as anything special. Those chairs experienced quite a bit of wear and tear from me and my two older brothers. My mother would repair them herself, sitting on the back terrace during the warm summer months with rolls of cane in a bucket of water, keeping the rattan supple while she patiently wove the strands back into seats.

And I think of all else she wove into our  lives—homemade bread and books read aloud and camping trips. How we are in a sense her handiwork, and my father’s, and myriad others’ along the way.

And all of us the handiwork of God.