I have aspirations to be a woodworker. So far they are based on several semesters of woodshop in high school and a few projects here and there since. We really do live with lots of wood in our lives––our homes are surrounded by trees and we walk streets filled with them in “the forest city,” to say nothing of the desk I’m writing this on, the chairs I’m looking at, the coffee table on the other side of the room. So it has always seemed a worthy medium for creativity.

For those of us who are buried when we die, wood is also a crucial part of our experience. There are ways in which this is as much an expression of respect on the part of the living, but it is one of the most important aspects of coping with death. I don’t think a lot about caskets or coffins, but they must be thought about and crafted if one’s family and friends plan a burial. 

So, I was surprised and astonished, really, when I learned that one man––a woodworker and craftsperson named Trey Ganem––carefully met with and planned the caskets for each of the children who were murdered in Uvalde, Texas. This is the meeting of craft and care if I’ve ever seen it, and it is a reminder that we can support those among us who mourn in all kinds of ways. And to care for those who grieve is a deeply spiritual thing to bring into an artform like woodworking. 

We are, to be sure, surrounded by a world that is wounded and in pain. But we are also surrounded by the potentiality of beauty and grace in ways that always seem to rise when the world’s gashes are deepest. Its enough, perhaps, to inspire even a bit of hope in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

Allan T. Georgia, M.Div., M.T.S., PhD

Sometimes it is hard to tap into our spiritual selves or find time to nurture our intellectual curiosity. Here is a section that reflects on some nourishing materials from around the web and related media channels in order to get us thinking, get us feeling, and get us reflecting on the lives we are living in this big, beautiful world. **Some Adult/Mature Themes May Appear in Links and Other Attached Material**