Lessons From a Dresser Assembly

04/07/2021

It’s astounding to me that God uses the simple, everyday, mundane tasks to teach us if we will just pay attention. At least, He does with me.

When I opened the 80 pound box that contained the gazillion pieces to this dresser two days ago, I was not prepared for what the Holy Spirit would show me in the process of putting it together.

The instructions were at the bottom so before I reached them, I pulled out 32 wood pieces for the dresser itself and 12 plastic bags full of a variety of parts that would bring those wooden pieces together into a functioning 4-drawer dresser.

As I looked at the messy and seemingly nonsensical assortment of screws, nails, wood, paperboard, brackets, and drive fasteners, I was seriously overwhelmed at the task ahead of me. But what is the best way to eat an elephant? Why, one bite at a time, of course! So I ‘criss-crossed-applesauce’ on the dining room floor and got to work.

At the beginning of the 24-page instruction book there are helpful hints for the COMMITTED dresser maker…those who KNOW they need all the help they can get and want to read every word to ensure a perfectly assembled piece of furniture. Well, my pride took me past those 2 pages and on to the first set of instructions.

In my haste to get the job done, I put brackets on backwards, used the wrong screws in the wrong places, put the left drawer slides on the right and vice versa, broke a cam lock, and stripped a few screws. It took me two days to get this dresser put together. And I discovered that ALL of the information provided for me was important…and necessary.

This dresser wouldn’t have taken nearly as long had I read each instruction carefully and not been in such a hurry to complete it. Yes, it is sitting right here next to me, filled with my clothes and topped with my lotions, body sprays, and television. It is fulfilling its intended purpose. But the journey to get it to this place was a lot longer than the two hours the book says was necessary.

It is the same with my life.

I am a ‘I want it YESTERDAY!’ kind of girl. I cannot even pretend to act like that is not who I am. My past is full of terrible choices, mistakes, and all out sin because of my apparent inability to be patient. In my haste to live my own life on my own terms, I ignored the internal warnings, skipped over necessary steps, and pushed through each day like a bull in a china shop. The end result was a mess of a life that is still being reconstructed today.

But…

If I wait and listen for the Lords instruction, if I read His word in its entirety instead of skipping over the parts that are hard to accept, if I walk out what He has commanded of me…won’t His intended purpose for ME be fulfilled with a lot less REconstruction needed?

Don’t get me wrong! I know that I needed a breaking, specifically 3 years ago this May, and beauty from those ashes has been the result. But in the everyday, mundane, simple life that I now live, I want to slow down and listen for the Lord instead of always diving head first into every task or opportunity. Instead of being so impatient and wanting things yesterday, I want to wait for His timing because, in my experience, it is always perfect. I want to read His word and accept every part of it knowing that it is all for my good…nothing more, nothing less.

I rejoice in the reconstruction work God is doing in my life. I rejoice that He sees me as worth the time and effort that He has put into me. But today, I rejoice that He loves me so much that He chose to use the “simple” task of the assembly of this dresser to speak to me and to teach me.

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26 NKJV