Fort Building

I teach Bible study in my home every other Wednesday.
It is a joy and a privilege to have the women here so we can dive into the Word of God together.
Some of the young mothers have small children who come to my home as well.
I have hired two, sweet home-schooled girls to care for them.

The children come in and know immediately where the basement door is located.
They know that the toys are waiting for them.
The same toys that my children played with all those years ago.
The same toys that I rotate each time they come, so they always have something different.

I love to see their enthusiasm.
Knowing that they are safe and enjoying themselves makes it easier for their Moms to relax.
I love to see their faces when they arrive and especially love to see their faces when they leave.
Did you have fun today? I ask them.

A resounding, Yes, is always their answer.
It is then I press a bit further to see what toys they enjoyed.
Last week, the littlest one said something I was not sure I understood.
Her mom clarified and said, She had fun making forts.

I know that we have two pop-up playhouses.
I also know that they are way back in the toy closet and were not brought out that day.
Forts? I asked looking at the girls who care for the children.
We made them out of all the chairs and blankets, they explained.

I hope that was OK, they said making sure I approved.
It’s more than OK; it’s wonderful, I added.
History repeated itself.
Forts made out of blankets and chairs; I remember it well.

What is it about a homemade fort?
What is it about taking objects meant for something else and giving them a new purpose?
What is it about putting the furniture all over the place instead of where it belongs?
What is it about the privacy a homemade fort provides?

I remember those days.
Elaborate forts took over the family room.
Blankets were strung over the backs of the sofa and love seat.
Dining room chairs provided just the right height from which the blankets would hang.

A country bench was long enough to accommodate the width of the blanket completely.
Once the forts were made, the fun began.
Books were collected and placed inside.
Favorite toys or stuffed animals came along as well.

After all the preparation, the fort builders were hungry.
A snack of goldfish in a favorite bowl and juice in a favorite cup was provided.
Going inside the fort to have their snack was a special treat.
After a little while, a voice would invite me inside.

I would scrunch all 5’10” of me inside the fort.
Inevitably my feet would stick out but that never mattered.
Mommy was inside the fort and we were having fun.
Books were read as we cuddled up together.

My children always had each other to play with, so the forts could get quite crowded.
It always seemed that the youngest ones were the ones that loved the forts the most.
I knew they were growing up when the fort became a way to have private time to play.
I could hear them as they were in their imaginary worlds; I just wasn’t invited.

Grownups outgrow forts.
Sadly, children outgrow forts after a while as well.
Blankets become functional as they wrap themselves in them when they lay on the sofa.
Furniture stays in its place and is used for sitting rather than the foundation for building.

Children grow up and leave their makeshift forts behind.
The memories are there.
The blankets are still in the same place ready for the next set of children.
The imagination of another generation will build on that which came before.

As you come to Him, the Living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:4-9)

God is doing some fort building of His own.
God is using His people as living stones being built into a spiritual house.
We follow the Living Stone, our Cornerstone.
The cornerstone is the most important stone upon which the whole structure rests.

On the cornerstone, each living stone is laid.
Fort building takes time.
Fort building requires tenacity.
With the Living Stone as our foundation, our fort will hold.

We are being built into a spiritual house.
It is our job to invite others into this fort that is still being built.
There is room, there is always room.
God says so.