By Simon Ambit
During the summer, our little family attended a silent auction with the intent of purchasing a small filing cabinet. We were fortunate that not only were there a few filing cabinets available, we were able to be a successful bidder on one of them. I wish I could tell you that our auction experience ended there, but it continues. It continues on in the form of a piano!
You see, there was a piano at the auction. It was chipped and dented, it had been weathered and water damaged and was broken in a place or three. There was no guarantee that the thing could be properly tuned or even if the sound board held any integrity at all. But at the end of the auction, with a smile on her face, the hope for repair sparkling in her eyes and a bid of $35, my fortunate little wife was the proud owner of the piano.
We loaded the tired old piano onto the trailer and brought it home. From that time to now, the piano has been taken apart, sanded, scraped, filed and repaired. We then cleaned, restored, oiled, waxed, treated, put it back together and had it tuned.
With the resurrection complete and the piano in working condition, I sat in the living room holding my daughter on my lap as my wife played a song on the keys of our auction block piano. The piano sounded great and seemed to ring out saying, “Thanks for taking me in and fixing me up. Thanks for the second chance.”
It was a neat project and one I am glad to have experienced. I am grateful to my wife for her $35 bid and willing spirit. I appreciate her foresight and our combined talents in being able to restore the piano.
I don’t know about you, but I see a bit of myself in that auction block piano. In one way or another, or at least at some time or another, we have been cracked and bruised, weathered and damaged and even broken at some point or another along the way. May we forever be thankful for our friends, our family and our great God above who have taken us in. And with the foresight to see our current state from our future potential, we have bandaged our wounds, dried our tears, repaired the damage and restored our hope.
To those who have been bent and beat up just a bit by the use of life. To those who have been weathered and weakened a bit by the storms. To those who feel to find themselves on the auction blocks of life, let the restoration take place. There is much good and valuable yet inside of you to give. Life if good, let your song be played!