Shut Up and Staple

I don't suppose you've ever heard God tell you to shut up and staple, but that is exactly what I heard one night!

Standing on a step-ladder at 2 a.m., I found myself arguing with God. I had 30 yards of unbleached muslin attached to either side of a 30 foot ceiling. Somehow, a platform, light board and other exposed lumber had to be covered with all of this material. Time was essential! Our dress rehearsal was the next night, and everything needed to be finished.

It had been a long day and I had been working on a set construction crew since early afternoon. My back hurt. My hands had picked up a few scrapes and nicks. And my husband, not used to finding the pillow next to him empty at that hour, had just called to check on my whereabouts.

Lord, I don't know WHAT I'm doing!
Shut up and staple!

This makes no sense! I'll finish this tomorrow!
Shut up and staple!

I've never done this before!
Shut up and staple!

I am a slow learner, but eventually I gave up and did just as He said. Draping cloth this way and that, taping, stapling and creating layers of fabric, I plunged ahead. Finally when I ran out of material, I stopped, stretched, and wandered back into the church's sanctuary to look.

"I dunno if this is going to be OK or not," I said to our artistic director. "What do you think?"

Her face was a study. Her jaw dropped, and then she smiled. "Turn around and LOOK!" she said, as she caught my shoulders and spun me towards the front of the room.

It was my turn to gape in amazement. Somehow, I had taken what I had and created a gorgeous Baroque-looking theatre box! The front of the church was softly swathed in white. "HOW did I do that?" I asked.

"Dunno, babe," she said, "but it is WONDERFUL! Where did you get the idea?"

Sheepishly, I said, "Well, I was arguing with God and telling Him I felt clueless, and He just told me to Shut up and staple! …so I did…"

In the months since this experience, I've pondered what, exactly, I was learning. It seems to me that God graciously, patiently reviewed three lessons for me that night.

My family and friends know that I am hardly ever "still!" As a child, my grandparents used to offer me a quarter if I could sit still and be silent for five minutes. I never got rich! I tend to hum, sing, chatter and talk my way through life. (I'm not exactly bragging here. This is an area where I know I need to improve.) But before I had even asked the Lord for help with my project, I had started talking and telling Him what I could and couldn't do! Shut up and staple! sounds a bit harsh. But He got my attention! What have I been missing, because I have not had the discipline to be still…?

Whose job was it anyway? Mine? I don't think so! Who was in charge? Well, certainly not me! He called me to be involved in the set dressing of this particular production. He gave the artistic director the idea to use all this fabric. (Though she confessed to me later she really didn't know exactly how it would be used!) He guided my hands and did the work. He was faithful. I just had to get out of His way! How much more could I do for the Kingdom's sake if I trusted Him, really trusted Him, to work through me?

In the grand scheme of things, this lesson has begun to mean the most to me. People did not come to see my set dressing! They came to worship, to hear the music and watch the drama unfold. Most of them probably didn't even notice the drapes and folds that I painstakingly created. Instead, it became a backdrop for God Himself! What an honor! What a privilege! I was allowed to help create the setting for the splendor of His holiness! I could stand in the wings and know that HE was honored through my work, and was pleased with my offering.

I am hopeful that the next opportunity God gives me to try my wings in a new area of service, I will listen before I start talking to Him about it.

Shut up and staple!
Yes, Lord!