‘Scrap’

December 24, 2023

‘Scrap’ as he had been known for quite some time now, started out with a much more noble self image. He could trace his original family lineage all the way back to the Cedars of Lebanon. Those same majestic trees from which King Solomon had drawn, when he first set about building the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Cedar wood, prized for its pleasing aroma, its straight grain, and its natural resistance to decay was long prized by both builders and carpenters who appreciated its ability to be easily worked while remaining strong and resilient.

Originally ‘Scrap’ had been part of a long roof beam that had at some point been repurposed and re-milled into much smaller boards for general use by local woodworking shops in and around Jerusalem. The only problem was that the particular board that ‘Scrap’ had been made into had one small imperfection. Normally pretty much knot free, one end of the cedar board which ‘Scrap’ had been made into had a fairly large knot near the one end. At first glance the knot didn’t seem all that critical, and was actually pleasing to look at with its whorls and changes of color from rust-red to much lighter tones.

However, the carpenter in the shop where ‘Scrap’ was placedknew that there was a good chance that with time and the drying effects of the desert air, the knot itself might shrink and compromise the strength or integrity of whatever the board had been made into.

As a result, the lonely board with the decorative end was cast out on the pile of cutoffs and warped boards around in back of the shop. And there the lonely board sat, out amidst the ends and splinters of previous projects, most of whom would probably never be used for anything other than for starting a home cooking fire at some point in the future.

One day, a young man came to the woodshop to apply for a position as a beginning apprentice. He had some skills to be sure, but it was his enthusiasm which caught the eye of the carpenter. The young man, named Asher, had a deep desire to learn and was willing to try anything. But the carpenter knew better than to trust his new helper with a project that might be too difficult for him, or that in the end, might result in wasting any of the precious wood he had set aside for his best projects.

So he sent Asher out to the pile of discarded wood around in back, telling him to find some pieces of wood he might use to make something which would demonstrate his level of skill and ability. And so it was that our friend Scrap found himself being carried back into the shop, thrilled to at last be recognized for his beauty, strength, and usefulness. Or at least, that is what he thought. For upon being carried proudly into the shop by Asher, Scrap was reminded immediately by the carpenter why it was that he had been thrown out on the waste pile in the first place!

‘That board is not good’, the carpenter began. ‘It may look pretty but the grain is not that useful as it is all tied into the large knot down there near the end. You can try to make something useful out of that board, but I am not sure it will hold together, and it surely won’t be anything we will be able to sell. But go ahead and try if you want’.

At first Asher was dejected. He thought the unique board was perfect, and now was not sure if he should even bother given all the imperfections the carpenter had mentioned. But as the carpenter had  talked of all that could not be made out of the defective board, Asher grew more determined to show just what he could do, and with firm resolve began to plan how he might make something out of the now questionable board…something of which even the carpenter himself would be proud.

For his part, Scrap had also been completely disheartened by what seemed to be the harsh words of the carpenter. But he was glad just the same to at least be inside the shop, rather than out among all the other lonely and rejected pieces of wood on the discard pile. And when he saw the determination on the face of Asher, he once more allowed himself to feel that his future, whatever he became, might one day honor the noble legacy from which he had come.

At first, Asher had much bigger ideas for Scrap than the little board would have been able to support. Several times Asher asked the carpenter if he could try this, or try that, but each time the carpenter patiently showed him why the defective little board would not be right for the job, again suggesting that he may want to go back to the pile out in back in search of wood better suited for his ideas.

But Asher was convinced that this one board, the one with the pretty grain and decorative colors could be made into something of great use and value. Time and again he came up with an idea, and each time the idea was rejected, all with good reason of course, as the carpenter was a very skilled artisan himself. Finally, seeing that his young apprentice was running out of ideas and becoming frustrated, the carpenter suggested that Asher try to make a small feed trough or a manger out of the little board. It was not a glamorous choice, but at least would allow the carpenter to assess his young apprentice’s ability in basic ways.

Asher was a bit let down at the suggestion, but thankful to at least have a direction, and vowed to himself that he would make the most beautiful manger there ever was…even if its ultimate use would be rather plain and perhaps even disgusting at times, as surely it would end up being caked with bits of animal feed and saliva.

And so Asher set to work with the now delighted little board. Scrap was so grateful to have been chosen for something! And grateful as well for Asher’s enthusiasm and commitment. He just knew in his heart of hearts that he could not have been in better hands. Over the next few days Asher measured and drew out his plans, then measured again so as not to waste any of the wood before beginning to cut out the pieces he planned to join together into what he felt would be the best manger ever! And as he worked the carpenter took notice of the young apprentice’s attention to detail, and his insistence on getting the most out of the wood that he possibly could. He was pleased with Asher’s work ethic and glad he had agreed to take him on.

The only thing that gave Asher pause in all his planning was what to do with the end of the board that had the rather large knot. He didn’t want to use it as one of the three horizontal boards making up the trough itself, for if it did in fact it ever did fail at some point, he did not want the farmer’s feed to leak out onto the ground, not only wasting it, but attracting more mice than already ran around most stables as well. In the end, Asher carefully cut the wood, locating the knot at the very end of one of the four legs. It didn’t honor the wood’s natural beauty, but Asher thought that at least it would put potential problems farther out of the way.

As for the fit and finish of the piece, it really was very well done, and other than the obvious potential flaw in the one leg, was one of the most beautiful mangers the carpenter had ever seen. Asher’s attention to detail; and his determination to sand the little trough down smooth so that there would never be a crack or splinter that could injure an animal feeding from it caught the carpenter’s eye, and he was very complimentary when he finally reviewed the project, giving his young apprentice high praise for his attention to detail and his obvious eye for wise and frugal use of what was otherwise pretty much a useless piece of wood. And as the carpenter spoke, Asher’s heart swelled with pride, he was so happy to have pleased his new employer and anxious to begin a more demanding project.

But Asher’s enthusiasm was short-lived. For as soon as the carpenter finished telling Asher how proud he was of him and of the quality of his work, he said, ‘But there is still one problem. It is not too critical, for this piece is not really something we would ever be able to sell, but you must remember that for something to have real use and utility, it must prioritize strength and function over beauty’. Not quite understanding what the carpenter was trying to tell him, Asher asked him why his manger did not have the function that was required to actually make it of great use.

Patiently the carpenter walked over to the little manger. Then, leaning on the one end, the leg with the knot in it cracked and broke right off, leaving the poor little manger all askew and tilted to one side. In this condition it would obviously never be of use to anyone, for it would not be able to serve its intended purpose. Seeing that his young apprentice was crestfallen, the carpenter sought to encourage him, urging him to try and learn from this one mistake so as not to repeat it in the future.

Asher realized that in his attempt to preserve the beauty of the little imperfection in the board, he had in fact compromised the strength and usefulness of the little trough. Sadly he picked up the broken manger and once again walked around in back of the shop, tossing it up onto the pile of discards. Then walking slowly back into the shop he was embraced by the carpenter, still thrilled to have found such a talented and worthy helper to assist in the shop. Immediately he gave Asher a new and much more challenging task to begin work on, and the young apprentice once again had a smile on his face and determination to be the best apprentice he could possibly be…but of course, that is not the end of this story!

As for Scrap, his moment in the spotlight and warmth of the woodshop had seemed like a dream come true. But now, as the sad little manger with the broken foot was thrown back up on the heap of old and useless cutoff boards, he began to weep, so sad that his legacy was now not even something that could or should be mentioned.

And it was there, later that evening, that a young shepherd boy noticed the little manger with the broken foot up on the pile of old broken boards. His family was poor and didn’t have much, and the boy thought the little manger might be useful in the family stable. He saw that the foot was broken off, but thought that if he had another scrap of wood, he could at least prop it up so it could still be useful.

Not wanting to be accused of stealing he went to the front door of the woodshop and asked the carpenter if he might take the little manger home. Recognizing the boy as a local from the neighborhood, and knowing something of his family’s condition, he told the little shepherd boy to go ahead and help himself. With much joy in his heart the young shepherd went around back and gently lifted the little manger from the top of the pile. He also grabbed a little knot of cedar lying nearby to use in propping it up, once it was in place in the family stable. Hurrying home he showed his family his treasure, and much joy visited that home that night as they placed the little manger in the center of their small stable down in the lower level of their home.

And Scrap…well he was overjoyed as well, finally feeling that he had some small measure of worth or purpose. Anxiously he awaited the first measure of feed to be used in feeding the shepherd family’s few sheep and one donkey.

Sometime after the family had gone to sleep that night there came a soft knock on the door of the home. Surprised at the late interruption, the shepherd boy’s father made his way to the door and opened it. Outside was a young couple, a man leading a donkey upon which was seated a woman who seemed to be in some distress. Stepping forward into the doorway the young man began to speak. ‘Good sir, is there any place where we might spend the night? We have just arrived in the city and have tried to find someone, anyone who would let us share some space, but it seems with the census taking place, that the city is completely filled up with visitors and there is just no more room available.’

The shepherd hesitated. For he had a small home and it was pretty much filled up with just his own family, there really wasn’t any room in his house either. Just as he was about to say he was sorry, and turn the young couple away, the young man spoke up again saying, ‘I don’t want to be a bother, but you see my wife is with child, and I fear that her time is very close, do you not have even a small corner where we may lay our heads, at least for tonight?’

As he was speaking, the shepherd’s wife drew near, awakened by the interruption. Gently she said to the young man, ‘Of course you may stay here. We only have the stable down below, but my son keeps it quite clean, and at least it is a warm and dry place to rest for the night. Being out in the cold overnight is no place for a woman about to have a child. Please, go down around back and let yourself into the stable. I will send my son down with some blankets for you. You should be able to make yourself comfortable there.’

With that Joseph and Mary made their way around in back of the small house and with the help of the shepherd boy nestled into the hay, where along with the warm blankets they fell fast asleep. The shepherd family went back to bed as well and soon the house was quiet once again.

Sometime during the night there was a soft cry as the woman in the stable gave birth to a baby boy. The only one who heard and was awakened was the little shepherd boy. Quietly, so as not to disturb his family, he made his way over to where he could look down onto the stable below. Seeing the couple and the newborn baby wrapped and lying in the little manger, the boy went over to the ladder and quietly climbed down.

He was overcome with emotion as he looked upon the baby and saw Mary’s gentle smile. Immediately he wished they had a better place for the newborn baby to be placed. It just didn’t seem right for the little boy to be laid, of all places, in a small broken feed trough. Slowly the shepherd boy made his way closer to Mary and began to apologize for the condition of the little manger. ‘I am so sorry that we don’t have a better place for you to put your baby. I found this manger on the carpenter’s scrap pile and he said I could have it. It had a broken leg but I grabbed a little piece of wood to prop it up so it would be a little more level. I’m so sorry.’

With the deepest compassion, Mary looked at the young shepherd boy. ‘My dear’, she began, ‘I have never seen a more beautiful little manger than this one. It is so smooth and so pretty, and it looks as though it has never even been used. It is so perfect for our little boy’s first bed!’

(At this point Scrap…remember Scrap…was absolutely overjoyed that he had been able to serve such a noble and important purpose.)

But the shepherd boy was still unconvinced, ‘but don’t you see, it isn’t perfect, it has a broken foot, and doesn’t even sit level on the ground’, he protested. Once again Mary looked deep into the little shepherd boy’s eyes. ‘My dear one, you have no idea how perfect this whole night has been, and what an important part you have been chosen to play. You had no idea that we would need this manger on this night, you just followed your heart and brought it home as a much needed gift for your family. For you see this little baby is so special, he has been chosen by God to bring good news of great joy to all of humankind. He was destined to be born here in humble circumstances, to be born in a lowly stable and to be first laid in a manger for his bed. You have nothing to be ashamed of whatsoever, and in fact were it not for you, this night could not have happened as it was meant to. So it is we who must thank you and your whole family for receiving us into your home and providing the perfect place for us to have our child.’

‘But’, the shepherd boy insisted once again, ‘the manger has a broken foot…it isn’t perfect…and I am so sorry,’ And now both the boy and Scrap were dejected…how could such a small imperfection ruin such a beautiful night?

Softly Mary responded once more, ‘my dear one…it is perfect…for you see, if it did not have one foot slightly shorter than the other three, there is no way I would be able to rock it back and forth so my child might sleep…it truly is the perfect first bed for our son.’

And at that the shepherd boy was quiet…finally realizing that indeed the little manger had truly been the perfect place for this baby who was destined for such greatness.

Oh…and that little board with the imperfect little knot near one end…the one who was so sure he would never be anything other than a little useless scrap of forgotten wood…well, it turns out he truly was from the towering and majestic forests of the Cedars of Lebanon…Scrap was finally blessed to be just who he was meant to be…from the very beginning…and you know what else? After Joseph and Mary left the shepherd boy’s home, legend holds that there was the most beautiful little cedar manger with the most adorable knotty foot, complete with rust red whorls and lighter tones, that stood strong and level for many, many generations…

Merry Christmas!