Saturday...moving furniture

Our men's group at church is very active. And they are aging. Despite the advancing years they continue to take on projects. Here is an example: Love, Inc. is a local thrift and furniture supplier for disadvantaged folk. They have a lot of furniture...all donated...stored in the north wing of the old hospital, which was purchased by George Fox University for use as offices and meeting rooms. It has really turned out well for Fox. In fact, Amy's office is there.

Anyway, they have not improved all the spaces yet, so Love, Inc. gets a deal. The director of LI called one of our guys to see if we would love to help deliver furniture one Saturday a month to those who need it... Sure. I said I would help, as did six others. At nine a.m. today we muster ed smartly at the storage room with our pickups and vans (not me, but others). The director lady has the schedule all made out for each crew.

Load your truck with a box spring, a mattress, a dresser and head out; that is the drill. Well, not quite so fast, my friend. What if the recipient is not home, or has no phone, etc. Out of six loads my partner and I brought back two....unloaded and reloaded. We delivered a nice couch to a lady and she asked, "Is that the only color you have?" Well, yes...it is.

Try this one: at 11:30 I am knocking on the door...switch to the door bell and the lady in a house coat comes sleepily out hollering as she does...."I'm coming, I'm coming." I politely tell her that we have a box spring and mattress...that she had asked for, so she nods for us to come on in. In comes the mattress, next the spring only to hear her say from the kitchen table as she is smoking a cigarette, "I don't need a box spring." So out it goes, yet again.

But the crowning blow was trying to snake a hide-a-bed into an apartment after lugging it fifty yards from the parking lot. In an other time I would have done much better, but in 2008 it was tough.

When I got home I was whipped. But, bless her heart, Aleene had lunch waiting for me and listened to my stories and allowed as how she puts up with similar comments from those picking up food on Mondays at FISH.

Our men's group is great, but we are all getting too old to lug furniture around. But, I know that serving the "least of these' is serving HIM. I guess I will be ready to go the third Saturday of next month, too.