Saturday 6 April 2013

Finally, a Problem, Yipeeee!

 Throne of Swords R. Side.

Last week I was ranting about how difficult the work was on this throne of swords. Well, now that the end is in sight, where just the two side edges need to be finished up, I am relieved to report that 
I am feeling much more rejuvenated and eager to get-er done.

As you can see the back is now covered with swords. Also, as you can see the side of the chair is not totally covered with swords. This part, not covered with swords is the added "depth" I had to add to the chair to bring more strength and balance to the high back of the piece. Also, since the upper part of the "back" was bending so much further back, I needed this extra width to create balance for the whole structure. With the upper part leaning so far back knew it would be placing a lot of stress on the dry clay before it went into the kiln.

You can also see that the upper back is jutting out, and is wider than the seat area and so this gap so to speak, needed to be dealt with. Also the original swords on the side now look quite incomplete and mutilated. They now needed to be incorporated into the new dynamic of the side and edge work.

After all that "routine" work adding swords, I suddenly had issues and problems to solve again, finally a little challenge and excitement! 

I guess there are a lot of people who have exactly that problem with life! So bored their looking for trouble to get excited and involved in life again. A recipe for trouble I'd say!


Here you can see the results of another few hours of work. I have taken the liberty to bend and adjust those "metal" swords to make the transition work in a more modulated and smooth way down the side. You can see the hilts are on these new swords and the handles will be placed later. Suddenly, the chair just looks a lot better!

What if we looked at all problems this way? That they are really a gift and it is all about perspective. That each "problem" has a gift in it for us to find. A gem. That once all is said and done, things will actually be better than they were before!

This Easter, we as a family sat around the food laden table, where each family member updated us on their lives. Conclusion, we all agreed life was just fantastic. Everyone was in a good place. 

Now, for those of you knowing our story and experience, you might be wondering, how is that possible? We also asked that question, how is this possible? We realized a lot of folk would never understand the conversation we were just having! 

If this can be the result of problems, shouldn't we be waiting with impatience, knowing that there will be something in it that we can learn, grow from, grow in character and strength plus be reworded for taking it on with the right attitude. 

We should then maybe even be jealous of other's peoples problems!  We should actually be wriggling with excitement, like a puppy for food, looking forward to our next problem and the huge beneficial gem we will find in it that's just for us!

"...count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have it's perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."    James 1:2-4






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