Our family has an old farm style dining table that was handcrafted by a family friend. Over the years its surface took many hits, scratches and markings. Though it looked a bit beat up, those wooden scars held many memories. As those memories were sanded into a dusty mess, I treasured each one. The new finish was still rustic yet it was waxed and polished to begin new memories. I didn’t know at the time that soon there would be an explosion of use. Our family of 6 moved in and began setting up their daily routine at this table. Two curly haired toddlers sat at the one end, graduating from clamp-on high chairs to sitting in big girl chairs, while their big sisters started their school day at the bench on the other side. It has quickly been covered with many new impressions and scratches with a stray crumb here and there.
When the table was crafted so many years ago, I could not imagine what was to come. My expectation of the future was predictable, but the future use of the table was not.
Omega NW has had a few changes this last year. Our journey we began in a familiar direction but led us to a few new changes. The name, the website, the logo and the look of a few of our partnering coffee shops have changed. However the ‘table’ is the same. The program, the intention and the need hasn’t changed. Our interns still need someone to sit with their scars, and remind them that there is beauty in each one. As HE sands the marks, He replaces them with something new and beautiful. The women that are on the other side of their past, still need someone to remind them of the beauty in the progress, and that precious new memories are to come.
Omega NW is expectantly excited for the new year as we assume that the marks of our next interns will make many unfathomable and unpredictable impressions on our hearts.