I had the most wonderful time figuring out what to do with an old dresser I’d had trouble selling. I looked for ideas on how to beautify furniture on the Internet and found a beautiful flower that had been stained on  the top of a dresser. I asked my daughter to take a look at the idea to see if she would like to keep the dresser after all. She agreed that it was beautiful and she would be happy if I tried to do a flower on the top of the old dresser. I was able to solicit my son's help in taking off the veneer that was on the drawers and sanding the drawers and was able to get help from my daughter in sanding the top of the dresser to get it ready for staining. After all of the veneer was removed and the top of the dresser was sanded as well as the drawers, I drew designs on the dresser using chalk. Then I began the staining process. I would do the center of the flower with more stain than the outside of the flower. I kept adding stain to the center of the flower because I wanted the center to be darker to allow for contrast . My daughter agreed that two small flowers for the front corners of the dresser would be nice also, so I added them later. The dresser drawers got vines and scrolls and to accent them, the stain was put on the outside of the designs. Later we decided that the coloring wasn't the best so I added cream colored paint to the drawer designs and they turned out very nice. We finished off the dresser with coats of polyurethane to preserve and beautify it.

I really enjoyed the bonding time with my daughter as well as my son on this major project that took a couple of weeks to complete. Sometimes our lives might appear to be like that old dresser, falling apart and ugly and we think “nobody wants it or want me”, but God can take our lives and help us to get rid of the pieces that are falling apart and find ways to make our lives beautiful. He said he would "beautify the meek with salvation". He said he would give us the "oil of joy" in place of mourning. And he said he could restore to us the "years that the locusts have eaten". There is hope when I hold on to God's hand that my future will be even more beautiful than my past.  I actually had the opportunity today to hold the hand of a friend who is addicted to heroin and tell her that she needed to "hold God's hand" to help her do what she knows she needs to do, if not for herself, for her daughter.

As I worked on that dresser with a tiny brush, making the petals on the flowers or the leaves on the vines, I reminded myself that I don't have to be absolutely perfect. My goal is to do my best, take my time and not worry about the teeny tiny imperfections.  I'm looking for the overall beauty of the dresser.  When people look at my life, I want them to see that I am happy and I want them to know that my life is reflecting the hope that I have in God. Just like that dresser has scars because it's old and been around a while, I know my life has scars too.  But I don't have to worry about what other people think of my scars, because they will only be seeing the overall beauty of God's light shining through me. The scars are part of who I am and add depth to my character, but only because I have used the mistakes of my past to draw me closer to God.

The therapy of doing art is very gratifying to me.  I love having a finished product from my efforts that I can look back and admire, as well as enjoy the accolades of others who enjoy it.  Just having a small brush in my hand and making nice curved lines and designs is so satisfying.  It has only been in the last few years that I can actually make something worthwhile.  I'd always thought that to be an artist you needed to be able to pull ideas from the head and put them on paper.  After being mostly self taught during my years of home-schooling, I was able to develop what minimum art skills I do have at this point.  I look forward to experiencing the many new techniques that Burlington College will teach me to develop my Art skills.

The flowers, the vines and the scroll work all have curves.  My violin instructor taught me that in music and in nature, curves reflect beauty.  It's wonderful to take my hand and gently move the marker or the paintbrush into the curved designs, it's therapeutic.  It's therapeutic because  I know what I am making is beautiful and knowing that I am making something beautiful, makes me happy.  When my life lines up to please God, I know He is beautifying me, and that makes me happy too.  Life may have twists and turns, but as long as I learn from my mistakes and keep my eyes on the goal of heaven I'll be fine.  If I fall, I get up, brush myself off and take what I've learned to make me stronger and wiser, so that I don't make the same mistakes again and again.  I need to remember, it's the overall process and the overall product that matters and I need to learn to "hear" the Master Artist applying His brush to my life with His loving hand of guidance.