The Temporary Desk

After ten days of staying in a motel, we returned to a freshly painted house and a renovated bathroom. As excited as I was to see the changes to our home, one thing I was truly looking forward to was returning my laptop to its place on the stand-up-desk at the end of my kitchen. The only problem was, when we walked in, I discovered the wall where my desk once hung was now empty, patched, and painted a pristine white. And if I’m honest, it threw me.

I had felt out of my comfort zone for the past week and a half, “cooking” with a microwave and toaster, living out of a suitcase, and constantly shifting my writing tools from one place to another. I was looking forward to being home and returning to my worship desk.

When I still didn’t have a space of my own upon our return, I felt a little defeated. We had half a couch to sit on, the refrigerator was in the lounge room, and we couldn’t put anything on the kitchen benches. And, I didn’t have a place to write.

In this moment, I completely forgot that while I was away I had learned to be quite resourceful – using a baby spoon for a butter knife, the lid of a microwave container for a plate, and refrigerating boiled water with apple slices because the water there tasted so awful. Mid-stay, when we finally popped in to see the house, I was actually amazed when my husband produced a butter knife. A butter knife! I didn’t have to use that flat spoon anymore! It felt like that butter knife changed my life. What can I say, it’s the little things.

So, upon our return, when I was in this defeated state and had forgotten how resourceful I had been while away, God sent a friend into the situation to speak life and remind me who I am. And most importantly, Whose I am. I still felt weary and a little lost but as I listened to her, my gaze went beyond the back window and I found myself thinking, if God helped me be resourceful while we were away, then He can certainly help me be resourceful now. And there in the backyard stood a little fold up garden table. Nothing to write home about, but it was a surface, a space… dare I say… a desk?

Fueled with fresh determination, I set to cleaning that desk from top to bottom, especially since a red back spider had taken up residence beneath it. It almost deterred me. Almost. But it was time for that eight-legged creature to be evicted and meet its Maker. Not to mention, it was time for this table to live up to its full potential. It was more than a home for bugs or a platform for potted plants, this unremarkable table would become my temporary worship desk.

Once cleaned, that thing was dragged inside to sit amongst the drop sheets and empty spaces, and the first thing I did fill it with my laptop, Bible and journal.

It’s not perfect by any means, but it doesn’t have to be. If the Lord has called me to write, then I can’t let something as small as my comfort zone stop me from following His call.

We may not have a dining table, but I now have a little corner to call my own.

Be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping your passion toward him boiling hot! Radiate with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him fill you with excitement as you serve him. Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.

ROMANS 12:11-12 (TPT)