home office

I have always had a home office. For years, it was a corner on the kitchen table. With a Bible and a few books on a shelf beside me, I would take over a piece of the table when I needed to work on a sermon.

With the advent of computers, my office needs grew. I needed some real space. Over the years my office moved around. Mostly because my wife gets tired of the house being arranged in a particular way, and I am thrown out of one space and relegated to another.

In the past 3 years, I have been nearly homeless as far as office space goes at home. I started in a nice little room in the basement. My wife sold me this house based on the promise, "look here is a great room in the basement for your office."

Then Scott got bigger and wanted more space. The house Nazi decided that Scott should take over my office and that I should move to his old bedroom. Fine. Let's do it. Unplug, unplug, unplug. Carry, carry, carry. Plug in, plug in, plug in. Look for lost things.

About a year ago, she took a new job where she works from home when she is not on the road. She needs an office in the home now. No, I know what you are thinking. I asked her if we could share. She didn't even say anything, she just grinned and shook her head. I was out again.

This time I moved to a little nook off of the kitchen. Small, cozy, and constantly overrun by cats warming themselves on the laptop or children who for some reason could not locate their computers. At times, the TV was too loud and the Wii became an attraction of bodies that spilled over into my "office," but the space was convenient and I was with my family alot.

While I was in the hospital, she decided that my office was messy. She decided that she wanted that space back. I had to move. Where should I go? She didn't care. When I came home one day, all of my stuff was moved to the basement. Unplugged, piled up, in a corner against a wall. I am an outcast, a vagabond. To add insult to injury, I can see my original office over there not far, in the other part of the basement, but it is infested with teenage boy now, and you can't get in there. I am just going to have to make it work out here in the basement.

I push my little table over to a window and set up shop. It is cold, and I am off by myself, but having been here for a while, I have noticed something. When I stop thinking about how my feelings have been hurt, when I stop feeling bullied, and look around, there are some pretty cool things just outside the window.

Looking out my new office window, I see blue corn flowers, sedum, a Japanese maple, a plum tree, a cleveland pear, lillys, hostas, red buds, and a statue of St. Francis. Sometimes I see squirrels and rabbits running around. Sometimes I watch a little black dog chasing them. Go black dog, go.

You know, when I get my mind off of the pain of being pushed around and dominated, and just look for the good, there is plenty of it to see. Blue sky, green grass, the woods, and all of my favorite trees and flowers, right outside my office window.

Maybe this is going to work out alright after all. [Don't tell her that I like it, she may make me move again.]

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.