Recently, my sister redecorated and no longer needed some furniture. Sid and I have a room at her house so I claimed one of the discarded chairs to try in our space. At first it looked really out of place. Put by the door as you walk in, it overwhelmed the room. It was way too big. After moving a few pieces here and there, however, we placed it in the corner that actually is a focal point of the room. From there it was almost like it was another piece of furniture. It no longer looked huge, but rather, fit in beautifully, for it is a beautiful piece. It actually brings the whole room together and is the most amazing furniture there.

Not only did it become the most beautiful part of the room, it also created new areas of enjoyment and interest. The newly placed chair created the need for a table, so I moved my small jewelry table in front of it, a new place at which I could sit and write this Shabbat encouragement as I look out the window. I can now see the beautiful forest behind the house, a new viewpoint since I did not have that vantage point before now.

The placement of the chair required more lighting in that corner, so we found a floor lamp that radiates new light in what once was a dark corner. The chair was so large that we had to move the bed more toward the opposite wall, and so needed a small table for that side of the bed. Voila! Amazon provided just the perfect sized table, with shelves for my bible and siddur and yet another angle from which to appreciate the outdoor view as now I can also prop myself up in bed, pray, listen to the Daily D’var, and gaze at God’s amazingly beautiful, created world from yet another angle out the nearby window.

Am I really writing a Shabbat encouragement about furniture . . . ?

Just as the chair was rejected and its presence became the foundation of so much meaningful change in our room, so too Yeshua was rejected but became the cornerstone of our faith. He, too, loomed large and didn’t fit in, yet ultimately walked with us intimately bringing us His divinity, bringing us new insights, new perspectives, appreciation and new eyes for so much we had not previously seen. Just as the chair caused the whole room to be rearranged, His coming changed mankind, but what a blessed change.

Just as the chair’s placement provided space for new insights, more light was needed for that area of endeavor. How perfect the pole lamp’s brilliance through three, yes three, lamplights on the pole. How perfect.

Just as the new chair created the need for a table, so too, Yeshua’s teachings brought forth the need for mankind to grow, to co-create with Him, to make choices guided by His Presence in our lives. He became and is an integral part of our daily lives if we choose to bring Him to our table. And when we do so, the newness of each day, the inspired thoughts and prayers He provides, the unparalleled beauty we see in this world through His eyes.

Bringing Yeshua into our lives as the focal point not only deepens our faith, it becomes the entire framework for our lives. With Him at our core, inscribed in our hearts, guiding our every moment if we choose to and work to make that a reality, our lives are filled with new insights and illumination. We become able to see Him everywhere, even in the story of a discarded chair.

Shabbat shalom.

Diane