Go Make Your Bed!

Ok, so here is the story.
About a month back I was driving home from a "Dad's at the Helm" fathers group at our church. One of the table leaders challenged us with the thought of, "How many people or families do you know personally that are not well off, poor?" His challenge was for us to find away for us and our family to personally touch someone who could use a helping hand.

On my way home I felt the Lord tell me to make a bed. No, not make my bed, make A bed. See, I have made a set of lofted beds for my kids. These are simple design, plain old pinewood 2x4 constructed beds. Nothing special or fancy, just a plain old twin size bed that sits almost 5 feet off the ground. They open up the space under a bed where toys, shelfs, cribs...whatever needs space can go. I have tinkered with the idea of trying to sell them on the side but, they don't compete very well with factory made fancy bed frames that can be bought on the cheap from places like Target, Wal-Mart and IKEA.

Anyhow, I'm driving home wondering how to meet this challenge and I get a picture of these beds in my head and the Lord says, go make a bed. You make a bed and I'll find the family, okay? Okay.

So, I went to the lumber store and selected some good 2x4's. I was building a bed for the Lord, what a joy. The last few weeks I have been putting in a couple of hours on the weekends and evenings building a loft bed. A plain simple 2x4 pinewood loft bed. I am not one for aesthetics, so those who know me should know that these are very simple designs. With each bed I get a little better. But i worked like I was building a bed for the Lord. He was going to inspect it, he was watching its progression, no short changing or cutting corners.

There have been some delays, there always are when our enemy doesn't want us to finish our work when it is for our Lord. I sometimes worried that I didn't get enough materials. The Lord always coalmed me down and whispered, I have given you exactly what you need. At the lumber store a bought a couple of extra pieces just in case something didn't work out just right. In the end, all was consumed. The Lord knew I would goof up that first few cuts and made sure there was an extra piece for the event. And I always found other things that needed to be done. When we came home from vacation a tree had blown down in our yard. Another disctraction but, the Lord told me I would be able to finish it this weekend, I had an overwhelming sense that I would have the time to do so.

This afternoon, Noah and I sanded it down and dusted it off. Dismantled it and set it in the garage. I took some photos earlier in the day while it was still together. We went inside and I posted it in the FREE section of Craigslist. Within 10 minutes I had 7 responses...and a challenge, which one of the 7 responses was the one the Lord had picked out? So, like any good and wise man, I read them to my ever so discerning wife. She told me she liked two of them but, when she recited which one(s) she liked back to me from memory of what I had read, both of the stories were from the same response, and we had a ringer.

So I graciously told the other responders that I would let them know when the next bed might be available and gave our winner a call.

Her response to my add was plain and simple, their 4 year old had outgrown the toddler bed, needed to upgrade to a big girl bed but, they had 5 kids (4 girls and a brand new baby of 7 weeks) The 4 year old had to share a room with her sisters and a loft bed was just what they had been looking for.

Now, from this response I figured the 4 year old was sharing a room with some of her sisters. My mistake, this is a family of 7 living in a 2 room single level condo/ apartment. All 4 girls are sharing one room. The baby brother is finally home after several weeks in the NICU after being born at 32 weeks. Mom and dad are healthy but are 2 months behind in just about everything. The wife told me they had been watching CL adds for a couple of weeks but the prices were too high for their budget. ( Some CL beds go for less than $50).

On the way there I got nervous over the fact that the bed I had made was simple plain and made of pinewood. I feared that they may be disappointed by the fact that it was still dusty and used carriage bolts. When Noah and I arrived, they opened the door and showed us where the bed was going to go. They had piled all they could onto the other beds in the room to clear a space for this new bed coming into their home. Such a tiny room for 4 girls.

As I opened up the back of our van, the husband, Ryan, came out to help us unload it and was surprised to see what lay in the back of our vehicle. "Wow, you made this? This looks really nice...you made this?" As I helped them assemble it. "wow, this goes together so much easier than that [factory made] one over there." "This is such better wood and so much sturdier than that [factory made] one." "wow, you made this?" "Thank you so much for giving this away, we shopped all over and could never find one we could afford, really, thank you so much."

Here I was worried about making a plain and simple 2x4 pinewood bed and not meeting their expectations and this family was so thankful that they were being given a good sturdy bed that far exceeded what they thought or expected. A little pine dust was minor.

On the way home a fleeting thought went thru my mind that the Lord slapped me for, I sure hope they are a deserving family....SLAP...you don't get to make that decision, you don't get to make that judgement, you don't even have the right to think that thought. You build it, let me worry about who gets it. You keep up your end and let me worry about the other end.

This all still goes back to the whole ox thing. I don't get to brag about the bed, who got it, how it was made, none of it. I just have to build it. It is because of my Lord that I have the mind that I have got to be able to see this bed in my head before a piece of wood is picked, let alone cut. It is because of my Lord that I get to labor in his shop and make plain and simple things. I don't get to see what the Lord does in this family, I just get the privilege of being part of his story in their lives.

Take up my yoke for my burden is lite...you don't get to pick the field.. it is not your place to plant the seed...you may not get to be part of the harvest...you don't get to brag about the crop...you don't get to brag about the soil or the field...you didn't make the furos straight...and you may not be the one to help water the rows...Just pull, and listen to His voice whisper in my ear, "go make a bed....that's nice...right there...good job."

When I got home my wife wanted to know how it went. I have to say, I think I was at a loss for words. You build it, I'll find the family for it, deal? Just pull, let me do the rest. God's requests can be so simple. Go make a bed. That's it. Go make a bed. And because I took the gifts and talents the Lord has given me and put them to work to make a plain and simple bed, the Lord took them and I got to be a plain and simple blessing in someone else's life today. Karen asked me if I needed to go to the lumber store this evening and get materials for another bed.

Though the night was getting long and most stores were closed, I have to admit, I almost took her up on it. I am excited to go and make another bed.

I now have a simple list of people I get to pray for:
Bed #1: Titus and Noah
Bed #2: Ciciley (and Lucas)
Bed #3: Cheryce, Ryan, and a family of 5 kids
Bed#4: Only God knows right now.