Lord,
two joiners came to our house
to install our new kitchen.
Power-drills, circular saws
and jigsaws
buzzed and droned
for hours
and at the end of a long day
the work was completed.

It made me think
about my Daddy
who is a joiner by trade
and who fitted a new kitchen for us
over thirty years ago –
before the days
of power tools.

Hard work!

And I found myself
thinking about you and Joseph
working as carpenters
using calloused hands
to work with simple tools
and wooden pegs.

Did you use a plane
away back then
to shave ribbons of timber
off doors and tables,
sending Goldilocks wooden curls
cascading
onto a sawdust floor
like my Daddy used to?
(I used to love that!)

Lord,
please bless all joiners today.
Keep them safe
in this fast-paced world
of power-tools.
Guide them
to find creative solutions
to problems
and inspire them
to approach their work
with integrity
as you and Joseph did
so many years ago
in Nazareth.

© Claire Murray, 23rd January 2021