December 8 Advent Devotion Written by Pete Grass

Trisha Huffman | December 8, 2015

Let’s start by reading and reflecting on 2 Peter 1:2-15.

When we lived in San Francisco, I took a week-long class at the Arques School of Boat Building and, along with a professional carpenter and a journalist, we built a 16-foot lapstrake canoe through the careful instruction of a lifelong boat builder from Nova Scotia.

That week was pure therapy from a stressful job. The setting along the Sausalito waterfront in the mostly quiet of the boat shops was salve to a crazy schedule and political pressures. Three guys and a pile of boards became good friends and finished a canoe in just six days.

Along the way, our build leader showed us a lot of tricks of the trade I’d have never figured out in a lifetime. Our hand tools (and my own—from grandfather’s shop), may have the best names like Record and Marples, but weren’t worth a tinker’s damn unless they were both sharp and skillfully used. It is with finesse that a graceful curve is made and a plank fitted to perfection.

He believed traditional boatbuilding to be the epitome of accumulated learning. We humans have been building boats for centuries. Along the way, learning takes place, is shared with the next generation, and all the while we improve our own skills over a lifetime of learning and discernment. Think about that. It is true in all professions. We learn, we reflect, we revisit our thinking, we change our views, we learn anew. It comes with time, and if we’re stewards of the trade, we can really get good.

What does this tell us about our knowledge of Christ? What lessons are here for our spiritual journey?

Prayer: Lord, help me hear the words of my elders, reap the joys of discovery, and grasp the message in your teachings. This Advent season, help me share with others the gift of refreshing our understanding of your Love.