Tales from the Crib

I finally finished putting together our crib today. Its a nice looking crib, probably even close to worth the money we paid for it. But it wasn't an easy task, for me at least.

The mattress support bars didn't fit. They weren't quite long enough to attach to the wooden frame. So I called customer service, aka the "Crib Keeper," and I talked to a woman. Kind of humbling I must admit. I was feeling so masculine putting the darn thing together.

Anyhow, I told them that my mattress support was too short. I figured it was "their" problem. But she gently explained that people call in all of the time with the same complaint. It was probably "my" problem. A pictorial email shortly arrived to my inbox that explained everything.

I guess I hadn't followed the directions as carefully as I had thought. There were 4 attachments which I assumed were interchangeable. They weren't, and when I put the right ones in the right place, I had new life. I had a fully functioning crib.

Basically she explained to me that I was wrong; it was my fault, not their fault. But she did it with gentleness and respect. She even told me if that didn't fix the problem to call them back (but she was pretty sure the email would expose my error). I'm reminded of Peter's challenge in his first epistle to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...(I Peter 3:15)"

Respect goes a long way in pointing people to the truth. Folks listen better when they are shown respect and gentleness. I know I do. So the "Crib Keeper's" demeanor was both refreshing and convicting.