The Hippo Stool

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     Since I've started getting ready for this craft fair in October, I always have my eyes open for anything I  can paint or repurpose. A few days ago at Goodwill I found a small stool for 3 dollars. It had a little boy's name on it and a big, smiling hippo. My hope when I bought it was that I would just be able to spray some white primer over it and paint what I wanted. Upon getting home I realized it would take several coats and might not even cover it fully. I dug through Jake's toolbox until I found some heavy duty sandpaper and set to work. At first it was slow going, but soon enough I had one full side done. It was hard. After a few consistent hours I had only managed to finish half the top and the edges and I was covered in paint dust. My fingers were raw and the sandpaper was all worn out, but the stool didn't look the same- even though I wasn't finished with it yet. Suddenly it wasn't just a stool with a hippo anymore. I could see all the possibility of what it could be. The stool could look like anything I wanted once I was done sanding it. That's when it hit me.
     This is a lot like God and us. We are the stool with the giant, smiling hippo. Our paint is chipped and fading after trying to do things our own way for too long. We go to God and ask for help. Just a few coats of primer over top of the old stuff. But He knows best what we need. He gets out the sandpaper and slowly begins to work away the old paint, our old life. After a bit the hippo starts to fade. Some spots are more stubborn and some hurt, but He is patient. And even though we aren't perfect and free of all the old paint just yet, the Lord knows our potential and will keep working until we become who He made each of us to be.

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