The Bunk Bed Journey

Branchtown has been, in many ways, a story of redemption.  From finding God working beyond my periphery, to being rescued by Hope, to finding Messiah emerge from Nazareth (netzer-et or branchtown), this blog has over and again begged the question, “Can anything good come out of Branchtown.”  Can anything good possibly come from this apparent mess that’s in front of me?  Can this possibly be redeemed?  The answer I have suggested is simply, “Come and see…”

What follows really is a story of redemption.  Not in the sense we often imagine.  I’m a craftsman.  One way that works itself out is through woodworking.  Particularly, I love finding wood that has been written off as unused, over-used, or less than usable, and figuring out how to give it new life; redeem it really.   

Read on and enjoy the pictures in this story of building bunk beds from "nothing"…

Several years back now I worked for Western Seminary as a building and grounds maintenance guy.  This is Armstrong Hall on the campus of Western Seminary.  It was built a hundred years ago and stands as a community pillar at the head of SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland, OR.  Of the many classic features of this mansion-turned-office-building, this massive pergola particularly stands out.  Extending off the south end of the building, it framed a ceiling for a wide porch and a path through a rose garden.  You can see, however, its glory day was hidden below heavy boughs of wisteria and many of the thick fir beams and not a few of the pillars had begun to rot and deteriorate.  My maintenance crew and I took action by parting it out piece by piece and repairing or replacing what we could.    

             

What was left after the repair were several beams clear of any knots, but with whole sections of obvious decay.  “Surely these can be salvaged for something down the road,” I thought.  So I held onto some of the beams.

                           

About a year ago I began to dream about making bunk beds for my kiddos.  Partly out of necessity and partly to get into another woodworking project.  I began to doodle and sketch.  I sized up those old beams from the pergola.  I did a bit of research.  I did some math and began taking notes.

    

Then I broke out the saws and began making sawdust. 

Began on February 6, 2012

After the sawdust settled out…voila!  Boards, cut and planed.

        

  

The joint I wanted for the headboards and footboards was complicated and tricky for me.  It took a few practice shots.  But the final result actually worked. 

                        

                        

The frames were fit together and set aside for the next phase…

     

…the kids’ initials; glued and clamped, and set in place.

  

Here I routed out grooves for the riser blocks, which would eventually keep the beds stacked and in place, before gluing up the headboards and footboards.

                         

Then, as often happens when I’m crafting something from a dream, I had another dream.  What if I gave their beds some redemptive quality; something more than merely giving old wood new life?  When our kids were born, we gave them each a verse from the Bible.  Over the years these verses have been memorized, recited, and prayed countless times.   “I wonder if I could use these verses in this project somewhere?” I thought to myself, “Maybe I could actually carve them into their headboards?” 

Well, carving proved a bit ambitious.  Routing them in didn't, though.

Of course we would need a ladder…

       

A few finish coats of Polyurethane and some final fitting and the girl’s bunk bed was ready to assemble.

          

                                 

In any woodworking project I've attempted, assembly is always the most unnerving stage for me.  I've measured twice, cut once, and fit things together.  I've poured long hours into sanding and finishing and sanding and finishing.  “Will it even work?  Will it actually bolt up right?  Will it hold up for the long-haul?”  These are the haunting questions as I place boards in slots and blocks in holes. 

As things would have it…it worked.  I had to trim a fuzz off the mattress boards to fit, but otherwise assembly went very smooth.

          

  

             

                 

Even the joints and riser blocks came out tight.

  

The finished product turned out better than I had dreamed it would…

Finished on March 23, 2013

…and the smiles on the girl’s faces generated in me that wonderful joyous conflict of tears and celebration.    

-- The bunk bed for my son is coming soon...

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You know, I've often wondered, on the back side of these projects I do – and here I am wondering it again – if this wonderful joyous conflict of tears and celebration that stirs up in me after making something out of what many would consider "nothing" isn't in some small way a reflection of what God must experience when one sinner comes to repentance. 

Reality is, humankind is a mess at heart.  We are.  Even without media spin, the stories that emerge from the evening news are more often than not less than encouraging.  Humankind is not improving at heart.  Humankind is imploding at heart.  The lingering question on back page of any newspaper or at the bottom of any news website is, “Can anything good possibly come from this apparent mess that’s in front of me?” 

Enter God’s plan of redemption.  Jesus was more than a wise prophet of God.  He is the Son of God.  He was not born onto the scene by happenstance.  His coming was promised by God from the very beginning in Genesis, and by faith countless men and women anticipated His appearing.  When He came, His mission was clear:  Redeem humankind; retrieve the unused, over-used, and less than usable no matter the cost.  His destination was the cross, and after that, the grave.  But beyond that, there was resurrection to new life.  And today, Jesus Christ lives and extends to each of us the very life He lived. 

First, we die to ourselves and receive the gift of God; forgiveness of sin, a gift paid for by Jesus on the cross, not by you and me.  Second, we learn to live a whole new life in Christ Jesus; His life now, not my own.  I suppose there’s more to it than that if you really want to know.  The dying to ourselves bears some explanation and the price Jesus paid could be clarified more.  But really, that’s a start.  That’s redemption for you.  Come and see…