Walk away from “The Desk.” This is what my brain is shouting at me as I frantically shuffle papers looking for a music score that I need to prep for the youth church band. It has got to be here somewhere among all of the other “white” pieces of paper. I know it is ecologically proper to use white paper but it drives me nuts.

“The Desk” is totally dedicated to my stuff. All the groups, organizations and commitments that I share my time with are represented on “The Desk.”

When we first moved into our house, I had a whole little room affectionately labelled “my office.” When I was frustrated because I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I could walk away from it all and just close the door behind me. When I returned to tackle the issue I knew that what I was looking for must be in that 8 ft. x 10 ft. room somewhere. But, over the past year, our living arrangements have changed so I offered up that little private space. We stored away a lot of stuff in the basement and garage. I was driven to be selective and now I am limited to “The Desk” which is openly placed in the room off of our entry.

Sadly (or should I say stressfully)“The Desk” should appear respectably tidy, as it is the first thing meeting company when they enter our home (please note – it should appear but only does with warning of impending company). It is very sturdy, has some scratches on it (we bought it at a pawn shop over 20 years ago so they aren’t all from me), and it takes a number of people to move since it is very heavy and can’t be disassembled. But this desk is so well made that I don’t think anything could cause it to collapse. On a regular day, though, one would be hard pressed to see it for what it is, a strong well made piece of furniture.

I find that “The Desk” represents who I am, literally and spiritually. It has, somewhere on it’s face, all the stuff that I need to deal with at some point: music scores to be scripted, Lutheran Women’s Missionary League material to be reviewed and prepared, curling executive minutes to be organized, and a few pieces of paper (usually white pieces of paper) that have numbers (could be phone numbers or not) or notes of information on them that at some point were probably important but for the life of me I can’t understand what they mean anymore. Oye!!! But when I know that company is coming the first place I tidy is “The Desk” because it shouldn’t be an eye sore to guests entering our home.

Just like “The Desk,” my life is covered with so much that at times it is hard to see what makes me strong. Oh, sure I can appear to clean myself up, spiritually, for Sundays and the odd church event, but when people just pop into my life, do they see how the Holy Spirit gives me the support to carry the load of daily life? Like “The Desk,” if I take the time each day to clean off my desk, get things in a reasonable order, life is truly a joy. And with my devotional life, if I spend time in the Word, it reminds me where I receive strength from and then, life is a definitely a joy.

So with that thought I must return to “The Desk” and maybe take some time to organize…. Wait is that a music score I see on my piano? Oye!!

P. K.