05/31/2018
“How did you guys come up with the name Arukah?” We get asked this question a lot, so here is the short answer and the longer, more purposeful to us, answer.
Short and sweet: Arukah is a Hebrew word that means “complete healing and restoration, holistic health perfected”.
Our answer: See this picture? Notice all the scratches, dents, knots, and discoloration? There is nothing inherently perfect about this wood. Chances are, you would never see this floor displayed in a showroom or a fancy schmancy house where floors are meant to be seen, but not used well or even walked on regularly.
Now obtaining perfection is a lofty aspiration and all, but what do you do with perfection once you achieve it (if ever)? Granted, this floor could actually use a good sand and finish to refresh and even it out, BUT this floor has been made to be useful, not perfect. It has been tread upon by muddied work boots, damaged and bruised by moving furniture in and out of rooms, it has surfaces that have been soiled and cleaned and refinished over decades, yet it has persevered. Even with all of its scars, it remains quite lovely--perhaps even more winsome than when it was first built. This wood holds warmth and texture that makes me want to cook barefooted, to invite little visitors to race cars along crooked lines and build Lego towers that crash and scatter over small clefts. This is the floor that the dog is welcomed on, along with family and friends-not necessarily in that order, of course. This is the floor, that lays on the foundation of the humble home, that was built, brick by brick and year by year, with love. Its beauty redeemed BECAUSE of the battle scars from dining room chairs skating across it. BECAUSE of the c***k taken out by a high heel worn the night she went out with her best guy. BECAUSE of the time put in, through the wear and tear of life.
We chose the name Arukah because we know and have experienced this kind of restorative healing. The one that God has done in us. The ways He has taken our mistakes, the blemishes left by our wounds, and the irremediable pieces of brokenness, and has transformed us into something new that He can USE, for His glory.
Does this mean that Glenn will only focus on refinishing old floors? Oh my goodness, no, of course not. He truly enjoys doing new projects, new installation, ultimately providing an opportunity for joy, through completing people’s vision for their most sacred place; their home. And he IS a perfectionist when it comes to his craft. Yet one of the things that I love most about this man, is the way that he sees wholeness where there is dilapidation, attainable value in what others have called barren scraps, and unforeseen beauty beneath the tattered and stained.
That’s what the fullness of Arukah means, at least to us.
