Before the next meeting with the kids, Professor Ooops had to cut the 8-foot-long pieces of spruce wood into 7-inch blocks of wood so that the kids could make their cars. The Professor got out his dull hand saw and began to cut blocks of wood. It was hard work because the saw was not sharp. By the time the Professor had cut out 2 blocks of wood, he was tired out! The Professor collapsed onto a chair breathing hard and sweating! Just then Shane and Shelly walked in and saw the Professor! They both started laughing at the Professor! The Professor wanted to know what was so funny, and Shane pointed to the Professor’s workbench and said, “You have a nice band saw on your workbench, and it has a new sharp blade! Why are you working so hard with that old handsaw?” The Professor said, “Ooops!”
Shane got out safety glasses and hearing protection for all of them while Shelly plugged in the band saw. Using the band saw, the three of them were able to cut out all the blocks of wood for the pinewood derby cars in just a few minutes! They were ready for the meeting with the kids!
The kids met at the Church on Wednesday evening and the Professor, Shane and Shelly were there. The Professor explained that they were going to design their cars that night. He showed them some pictures of pinewood derby cars that other kids had made and told them to use their imaginations to design their perfect car. Shane and Shelly gave each of the kids a block of wood, a pencil, and an eraser. The Professor told the kids to draw their designs lightly on the block of wood. If they pushed too hard on the pencil and made dark lines, it would be much harder to erase the lines if they made a mistake.
The kids began to think of a design for their car, and one of the youngest kids came up to the Professor and shyly asked him if he would help her draw her design on the block of wood. The Professor was so excited! He took the block of wood and drew on it as the little girl described the car that she wanted. The Professor drew it too small, and he was so excited that he pushed too hard on the pencil and made dark lines! The Professor said, “Ooops!” The Professor tried to erase the lines, but he had pushed so hard that the lines did not erase too well. Then the Professor tried again! This time he drew the design too big, and it did not fit on the block of wood, and he had pushed too hard on the pencil again! The Professor said, “Ooops!” The Professor tried again and again, but he could not draw the design onto the block of wood! The little girl started to cry! Shelly heard the girl crying and came to help! Shelly saw all the dark lines on the block of wood, and it was a mess! Shelly told the little girl that she would help her. The little girl stopped crying and started smiling! Shelly got a new block of wood and drew the car design just the way the little girl wanted it! Shelly drew the lines lightly so that she could erase any mistakes.
The rest of the kids saw what had happened, and they all lined up for Shane and Shelly to help them draw their designs on the blocks of wood!
At last, they were all finished! Every one of the kids had a block of wood with their design drawn on it. The kids were happy, and they could not wait to have their cars cut out of the block of wood, but the Professor told the kids that they would have to wait until next week to have the cars cut out. The Professor then told all the kids to gather around him because he was going to teach them a little more about God!
Professor Ooops Lesson from the Bible:
The Professor told the kids that they had all done a wonderful job designing their cars, and that Shane and Shelly had been very good helpers when they helped the kids draw the designs onto the blocks of wood.
The Professor held up some of the blocks of wood and told the children that all of them had designed their pinewood derby cars differently. Some had designed sports cars, some had designed bigger cars, some had designed SUV’s, some had designed pickup trucks, some had designed larger trucks, and some had even designed buses! The Professor said, “Even though all these pinewood derby cars are going to look different when they are finished, they were all designed by someone. All of us were designed by someone too!
In the Bible in Isaiah 64:8 it says:
And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and You are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.
This Bible verse compares God to a person who makes pottery. The person making pottery takes a lump of clay and puts it on the pottery wheel. When the wheel is spinning, the potter uses their fingers and their skill to make all kinds of pottery. Every piece of pottery is unique, none are exactly alike. God makes each of us unique, none of us are exactly alike. We are made special by God!
In the Bible in Ephesians 2:10 it says:
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.
This verse is a special promise for each person who has believed in Jesus, prayed, and asked Him to forgive their sins and asked Him to come in and take control of their life. God is gradually turning each believer into His masterpiece. What a great promise! Believers are not only made unique, but they are also being turned into a masterpiece by God Himself!
Do not give up! Keep following God, even when it is hard. He knows what He is doing!