The Chairs

Moving into a new home isn’t easy. Whether you’re down-sizing or up-sizing, learning how to live in new surroundings can be daunting. Nothing fits exactly the way you were used to having it fit in the old place.

Furniture, especially, is a huge problem. In this age of “open concept” living, how do you marry furniture styles from two, or even three, separate living spaces into one? My husband and I optimistically hauled our furniture from one home to another, thinking surely, we’d find a place for all of it, only to discover that most of it needed to find a new home – fast.

Unpacking our belongings, and arranging – and rearranging – furniture transpired over the course of several weeks, but in the end, there were two empty spaces along one wall that seemed to cry out for two small accent chairs, and so the hunt began. We combed the internet, searching the usual web sites that specialize in home furnishings. Whenever we happened upon a furniture store, in we went, looking without success for those elusive chairs that possessed the charm and character we were searching for but couldn’t find. Nothing spoke to us except outrageous price tags.

Then one day, our daughter suggested that she and I visit a few local antique and thrift stores. The very first stop on our outing took us to a large thrift store sponsored by a nation-wide charitable organization that was housed in an unlikely location: a warehouse located in an industrial business park in nearby Redlands. We parked the car, walked into the entrance, and sitting there as if they had just been dropped off and were waiting for us, were two matching spindle-backed barrel chairs. Now don’t get me wrong. They were no beauties. In fact, they were decidedly unlovely. The gold brocade upholstery was stained, the wood was scarred, and the varnish was sticky. But for size and style they were perfect. We looked past their shabby exterior and saw their potential. And the price was right: $40 each. We loaded them up and headed for our next stop, the fabric store, where as if it were all part of the plan, the home décor fabric was on sale for 50% off.

Our next stop was the home of my “niece-in-law”, who is absolutely fearless and amazingly talented. She only recently discovered a talent for reupholstering any piece of furniture she can get her hands on. Those forlorn little chairs were no sooner in her house than she had her tools out and had proceeded to take them apart, revealing springs in the seat bottoms that were in remarkably good condition; sturdy construction (no wobbles); and all in all, “good bones.”

The transformation of the chairs over the following few weeks, from shabby to chic, was a team effort, from cleaning to sanding to spray painting, and finally to “redressing” in fresh new fabric. As you can see by the photos, the makeover was remarkable and in their new home, they look exactly as if they’ve always been there, providing a pleasant and comfortable place to sit, and adding warmth to a previously empty spot in our new home.

The rehabilitation of these little chairs reminds me that God, because of His infinite mercy and grace, looks beyond our shabby souls and sees our potential. He lifts us up, sometimes out of the most unlikely circumstances, and transforms us into a new creation, fit for service in His Kingdom, and clothed in His righteousness. But unlike my little chairs, which were purchased at the bargain price of $40 each, Jesus paid dearly to purchase us. He paid for us with His life! We have been redeemed at great cost. 1 Corinthians 6:19 & 20 tells us that we are not our own, that we have been bought with a price and that we are to glorify God because of it.

Thank you, Jesus, for taking my sin upon you that day on the cross. Thank you for choosing me; for rescuing my shabby, dirty, sinful soul and transforming me into a new creation.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:17