The Crib

It was bulk trash day in our township.
The one day set aside twice a year to get rid of larger items.
My husband reminded me that the day was coming up.
He wanted to know if we had anything I wanted him to bring.

I knew right away that there were a few things in the attic.
An old suitcase that has seen better days, the dressing table on which I changed my children, and our old crib.

It was not easy to part with the crib.
It was the crib where five children slept.
It was the crib where five children pulled themselves up each morning.
The place where they stood at the guardrail waiting to be lifted out so the day could begin.

I loved that crib; honey wheat color, intricate scroll design, wicker panel on the one end.
I was afraid to look at the condition of the crib.
I was sure the mice that tend to visit the attic in the winter had feasted on the wicker.

The crib was in amazing shape.
The wicker was intact; the color of the wood was the same as I remembered.
I intended to keep it for my grandchildren someday.
The crib doesn’t meet the safety standards any more.
I could never use it; I could never give it away.

My husband called me upstairs and told me he had an idea.
As he lifted the pieces to bring out to the car, he noticed the other side of the end panel.
It was the side where the children would stand, waiting for me each morning.
It had their teeth marks in the wood.

It brought me back to the time when babies put everything in their mouth.
They were teething and the wood must have felt good against their gums.
There were tiny marks left by their bottom teeth.
How could I part with this?

I have an idea?
What if I took all the hardware off the back, and worked on this piece a bit?
We could hang it up…and remember.

I was touched at his nostalgia, more pragmatic than mine.
In lesser hands, it would still look like a piece of a crib hanging on the wall.
In my husband’s hands, it became a decorative wood panel.
A panel with teeth marks that only he and I and the children could ever find.

After it was hung, one of my daughters said, It fits you, Mom.
Of course it does, since I am the woman who hangs quilts and a large yoke on the wall.
My youngest daughter said, Mom this is great! You can use the wicker as a bulletin board so when we have children, their pictures can go up here. You can put artwork here, too!

She is projecting to a time that has not yet come.
How precious to use a piece of their history in such a practical way.

Our upstairs hallway has pictures of the children.
Years ago, I found frames that hold twelve wallet size pictures from each year.
Under that frame is a large wall frame, which holds their graduation picture.

One day, that will become a wedding picture…and so on.
At the top of our back stairs, in the same hallway, now hangs the crib panel.
A perfect spot for the continuing story.

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” (Joshua 4:1-3)

Moses had already parted the Red Sea with the staff of God in his hand.
Now Joshua was leading the people across the Jordan River.
It was harvest time and the river was at flood stage.

As soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, set their foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand in a heap…the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before…In the future when your descendents ask their fathers, “What do these stones mean?” tell them, “Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what He had done to the Red Sea when He dried it up before us until we crossed over. He did this so all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so you might always fear the Lord your God. (Joshua 4:13,17,18, 21-24)

Standing Stones.
Stones of remembrance.
How important they are to our faith.
Markers…remembrances of the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord.

So when someone asks, What is this interesting wood panel?
I will tell them it is my Ebenezer: my stone of help.
It is a memorial to the Lord for His faithfulness and His kindness.

Because of Him, we have these five children.
Because of Him, we will have grandchildren, if that is His will.
Because of Him, we have a legacy of faith…teeth marks and all.

Raise my Ebenezer!
Hanging proudly in our hallway of remembrance.