As I have unpacked into a new office this week, I have
remembered who I am through the lens of the many things that I have brought
with me.
Of course there are the books. I had engaged in A Great
Culling before this move, selling a few books and being happily surprised that a
new-to-ministry colleague was interested in the rest. (Thanks, Erika!) The
books that remain with me teach me about what I hold most dear. The Interpreter’s
Bible Commentary, Anne Lamott, Bibles of all types, skit books from my youth
group days, my favorite theologians, and more. . . these titles and authors
speak volumes (pun intended) about where I turn for inspiration.
My office is filled also with gifts and significant objects
from so many people and places. I keep track of time with the old Coca-Cola
clock from the KOA campground ministry I worked at in college. Stained glass
items made for me by church members make the light dance happily in my office. The
wall of crosses, each with its own memory and meaning, seems like an
ever-evolving work of art. Diplomas and recognitions from different times in my
life are helpful for those times when I wonder if I’m really qualified for this
work to which I’m called. And, of course, the hand-painted plaster-of-Paris
scene of two bears in the mountains, which you’ll have to hear about in a
sermon to learn the backstory, occupies a place of honor as it has for 38 years.
This space is peopled with pictures and reminders of people
who are dear to me. My family, my dog, and my friends smile at me from frames
near my desk. Fabric art made by one of my daughters hangs from my wall. A
statue of children that was given to my father is on the shelves behind me,
along with a John Wesley commemorative plate given to me by my sister. Whenever
I look out the window, I look at a small graceful wooden carving given me by
Andy.
My mugs take up an increasingly large space, collected from
different places I’ve traveled. I’ve got mugs from my children’s colleges, and
even my father’s mug from his days as Country Director of the Peace Corps. Each
Sunday, I choose whichever mug seems most fitting from which to sip my hot tea
during worship.
My desk has my two go-to Bibles at hand, along with a cross
that’s designed to be held. There’s a mug warmer for my hot tea and coasters
for cold water. Various hymnals, along with a Book of Worship and Book of
Discipline, are also within easy reach. Best of all, my picture of cosmic, smiling-with-arms-open-wide
Jesus that I bought from a local artist long ago hangs right where I can see
it.
When I was moving, I felt mildly embarrassed about how much
stuff I was bringing with me. Surely, I thought, it shouldn’t take so many
boxes just to move one person from one office to another. But I realize that my
office is a place for me to occupy, to think and to write, and to derive
strength for ministry. There will be groups that meet in this space, and I want
them to feel comfortable and welcomed here. In this space in which I am fully
myself, I long for others be fully themselves also.
Come on by, check out my new digs. I’d be glad to tell you
more about what all is in here. I hope this space will make you feel at home,
and that as long as you feel at home anyway, you’ll want to have a cup of tea
and chat for awhile.
