Buying Bunk Beds and Finding God's Grace

With the decision to bring and 8 year old boy into the family instead of a baby girl came the necessity of switching our thinking regarding configuration of bedrooms...namely from a baby in her own crib and own room to bunk beds with two boys sharing the same room. That led to a distinct problem. We had a crib but no bunk beds. So we started looking. My sister Sharon suggested checking Craig's List. I couldn't see any bunk beds listed. But Sharon pursued a posting which read "Tons of furniture Priced to sell - $1." She discovered a children's bunk bed (mission style with built in desk and drawers...slight water damage. I was a little skeptical but decided to call anyway. The woman who answered told me that she hoped to get $200 for this bunk bed system. After some research I discovered that this was probably a pretty good deal if there wasn't too much damage because most bunk bed systems sold for well over $1000. We called the next morning to see if we could make an appointment to see the bed and had to leave a message. We heard nothing all day.

I have discovered with age and maturity that I have a tendency to become discouraged easily. This was no exception. I convinced myself that someone else must have purchased the bed and decided that if no one had it must be in awful shape. Alan and I started shopping around (in part because Alan's parents are providing money for this purchase and because there is a great need to replace our guest room matress). We found a plain oak bunk bed that was very reasonably priced. We started weighing options. I nearly pushed Alan to purchase it. But God had other plans.

The very next morning we received a call. The bunk bed was still available if we wanted to look at it. By this point we weren't sure but decided to look anyway. When we were shown the pieces we were pleased to see that it was actually in excellent shape...very little water damage and only a few scratches. It was a beautiful bed and wasn't so high that we couldn't easily converse with whomever was on the top bunk. The construction appeared to be solid pine in a cherry finish. We were sold. It was a great bargain at $200.

As I was writing the check the woman exclaimed how wonderful the Lord was to bring together the sale of all her furniture before she moved cross country and only about one week after posting her items on Craig's list. I stopped, not sure if I had heard correctly. I asked if she was a believer. She responded, "You bet I am!" Then she went on to offer some of her son's outgrown clothes to use for Jadon telling me she wanted to bless me. I was blessed!!!! I couldn't stop smiling.

I looked back over the journey of the bunk bed and realized that while I was looking for a bunk bed for my sons I found God's grace too. It shouldn't surprise me. It happens absolutely every day. I just don't see it as I ought. It took someone else bringing God glory for me to recognize His glory in the ordinary (or not so ordinary) experiences of our lives.