My Dad is an amazing man. He’s a fantastic father, provider, friend, and, from my perspective, a great husband, brother, and son as well. On top of all this, he’s a pretty crafty guy. Dad hardly ever sits still unless he’s watching some Alabama football or reading a Louis L’Amour cowboy novel. Although he’s not a carpenter by trade, he loves to piddle around the house and build furniture. During the early years of my parents’ marriage, he built a china cabinet, a dining room hutch, stools made from barrels, and several more pieces that I’m forgetting to mention. Lately, he built two tables for the kitchen and some cabinets for his workshop. At some point, I’ll update this post with pictures of everything I mentioned.
The most special piece my father has ever made was the wedding gift he gave me. My husband and I only had a five-month engagement, so my Dad spent all of those months building a prayer bench for me. He even hand-carved two crucifixes. The workmanship is spectacular!
My husband and I used the prayer bench during our wedding ceremony. The bench has also been used in my cousin’s wedding and hopefully will be a cherished heirloom to be passed down from generation to generation. I don’t know how many hours Dad spent building the bench, but I can tell from the tiniest details that he put a lot of love into it. It’s made of solid oak and you can’t see a single nail or drew head. The pictures don’t do it justice; it really is a work of art.
Here are a few close-up pictures of the crucifixes.
On a side note…my Mom crocheted the throw to cover the kneeler pillows and Dad even hand-sewed the pillows.
