The Guardrail

I remember when our oldest daughter got her first real bed.
She had graduated from her crib and was excited about her big girl bed.
She was excited at the thought.
She was not excited about the reality of sleeping in something so big.

We were hoping that God would bless us with many children, so we thought ahead.
We decided to buy beds that could be bunked or kept separate as two single beds.
It was this single bed arrangement we tried first.
The beds would be assembled as bunk beds a few years later when our sons were born.

Teddy bear comforters were purchased.
Wicker baskets to hold her stuffed animals were in the corner of the room.
A chest of drawers and a bookcase made the room complete.
It was completed just in time, since our second baby would be born in a few months.

Once our oldest daughter got used to her new bed, she did enjoy being in her room.
She loved to take a nap there with her favorite things all around her.
Literally all around her.
She had piles of books, stuffed animals, and a box of treasures on the side of her bed.

All these special things rested against the wall.
She had the wall on one side of her and a guardrail on the other.
A guardrail that went all the way down the length of the bed.
A guardrail that was in place since this bed would eventually be the top bunk bed.

It was the perfect place for her to be.
A new bed with a built in safety feature to protect her from falling on the floor.
She would climb in bed at the bottom where the rails made a sort of ladder.
She would get cozy and touch her things that were lined up against the wall.

I would give her a kiss and I would leave her room, closing the door behind me.
I could hear her talking to her stuffed animals and looking at her books.
Too young to read yet, she would make up stories according to the pictures.
Soon, I would hear no sound at all and I knew she was asleep.

My growing belly confirmed that our second baby would soon arrive.
When my oldest daughter napped, I tried to rest.
That was not always possible since there was always something that needed to be done.
One very hot June day, I was startled with my little girl’s cry.

I ran upstairs as fast as I could, holding the baby inside me as I ran.
I opened the door to find my little girl half in the bed and half out.
Her legs were under the wooden guardrail and the rest of her was still in bed.
My mind was racing as to the best way to get her out of bed.

She could get out of this position the way she got in it, but she seemed afraid.
She was too little to know that climbing over the rail would have been far easier.
Better yet, climbing back down the two ladder steps at the one end would be best.
My mind was racing as I spoke softly to her.

I knew the guardrail could easily be removed, more my husband’s expertise, not mine.
As I contemplated all of this in a matter of minutes, I heard a voice behind me.
Well, that’s an interesting way to get out of bed!
A sight for sore eyes; I looked around to see my husband who had come home from work.

He quickly went to his toolbox and got a screwdriver to remove the rail.
My daughter was not crying in pain but rather in frustration.
She wanted to be so independent; she wanted to get out of bed all by herself.
Instead she got herself stuck.

Our little girl hugged her daddy and nestled her head against his neck.
My husband carried the guardrail out of her room.
The guardrail stayed in a closet until the beds became bunk beds.
She never fell out of her new bed and could easily climb in and out by herself.

Lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121)

God puts guardrails in place.
God gives us the Ten Commandments and He gives us His Word.
These safeguards are in place for our protection.
We live our lives with God-given boundaries.

We always test them.
We think we can get out from under them or maneuver around them.
We are wrong.
We often find ourselves getting stuck.

Well, that’s an interesting way to go through life, I can hear God say.
He will gently lead us back, the Shepherd that He is, when we cry out to Him.
We cry out in frustration because our own way was disastrous.
We had the safe confines of the boundaries He set but we tried to get out on our own.

God’s guardrail is there for our protection.
He will never remove it.
He will come when we call in gentleness but with Authority.
We learn to stay within the confines of the boundaries He has lovingly put in place.

God’s guardrail.
God’s boundaries.
God’s protection.
How safe we are.