When you get up, watch your step

Since the Playl Jr. family moved to the Nashville area, about six years ago, Grayson and Anderson have enjoyed the luxury of their own personal room. Privacy! But when they lived here, in Bristol, they shared a room. That was exciting, too. They had bunk beds.

When they first got bunk beds, they could hardly contain themselves. It was an adventure. Honestly, I shared their excitement. Having bunk beds brought back all kinds of memories for their papa. My brother and I shared a room where we slept in bunk beds many years ago…which brings me to my story.

From the time I was in second grade, I enjoyed spending the night with a friend or having a friend over to our house. Johnny Oldham was one of my best buds in sixth grade, and he was eager to sleep in our bunk beds. My brother had to sleep on the couch, but, as our guest, Johnny got to choose where he slept.

Our bunk beds weren’t from Utley’s, Jordan’s, or some other fine furniture store; they came from the Army Surplus Store. Plain, wood, straight up, with “US” branded into the wood. They were the same width, so there was no dropping from the top bunk to the bottom…unless you did a little acrobatic move and “swung” around from the top.

Usually, I slept on the top and my chubby, older brother kicked me from below. Johnny, who had never slept on the upper berth, chose to sleep on top. I slept in my brother’s sagging, bottom bunk.

It was the middle of the night when Johnny, half-awake, decided to step out of bed. Sleep-walking, bathroom break, drink of water, phone call to check on his mom and dad…we never learned why he got out of bed that night. We did learn, however, that he was too drowsy to remember where he was: the unfamiliar top bunk. Instead of 18 inches, he was four or five feet off the floor; so, he found himself piled up on the floor with a fractured toe. You might say he had a rude awakening.

Probably the greatest consequence of that step was that it interrupted Johnny’s role as the starting fullback for the Broadway Blues, our little league football team. He didn’t get to play for a few weeks, and the coach was upset with me for letting him sleep on the top bunk.

Most of the decisions we make in life are more complicated than whether to sleep on the top or bottom bunk, but many of our decisions require a “step of faith.” When we take a leap into the darkness of life, our faith must be in God. Blind faith, that which is misplaced, can lead to terrible consequences. Be sure to place your trust in God, not emotions, not others, not even yourself, when it comes to the important matters of life, otherwise, you could find yourself taking a bad fall.

 Physically, we may tumble out of bed, slip on a rock, or trip over our own two feet, but spiritually, we have options to prevent falls. Psalm 37 reminds us that a Godly person, one who is delighted in His way, will have his steps established by the Lord. When His law is in our heart He keeps our steps from slipping. 

Be careful where you put your feet!

-Steve Playl can be reached at playlsr@yahoo.com