Speak to Me Sunday: A Good Night

I heard the voice of Jesus say, 

“Come unto me and rest; 

lay down, O weary one, lay down, 

your head upon my breast.”

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say 

traditional English folk song, Horatius Bonar (1846)

When I was in high school I went on a mission trip to Haiti where we ran a clinic in a small, remote mountain village called Jean Rebel. A few days after our arrival three of us accompanied a doctor and a nurse on an overnight trip to another isolated village perched on top of a mountain. When we arrived late at night, with only the moon as our guide, we were escorted to a small hut. It was very primitive, with a thatch roof and no windows, and it was equipped with three small beds.

Here’s what I remember about that dark night: I slept on a bed with SMURF sheets.

Not only did those SMURF sheets filled me with wonder (how did Smurf sheets arrive to this remote village?) but I was also incredibly humbled as I thought how the villagers had prepared for our arrival. They had cleaned out a shelter and did what they could to make a small, dark space hospitable and welcoming. They put sheets on our beds when I knew most did without. What they gave us may seem so basic—shelter and a bed—but they gave what they had, and it was more than we needed.

And that night, in a remote village on a mountain in Haiti, in a primitive hut under a starry sky, I lay cocooned in those Smurf sheets and slept.

This memory came to me this morning as I made a bed with princess sheets for a little girl I didn’t even know.

An hour earlier Joe and I had accompanied other members of The Italian American Club to volunteer at ReStart Augusta, a nonprofit organization that provides beds to children, families, and veterans in our area. For three hours most of the group sanded, painted, and assembled beds, while another, smaller group helped deliver bed frames, mattresses, bedding (sheets and comforters) and, for any bed meant for a child, a stuffed animal.

A bed. Clean sheets. A pillow to lay your head.

That’s what this ministry does, and what a wonderful thing.

When that little girl saw her bed (which was the only piece of furniture in her room) she climbed up and softly patted her new pillow. She couldn’t stop smiling.

And that’s when I thought of those Smurf sheets ... because I knew exactly how she was feeling.

Italian American Club

ReStart Augusta