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The greatest joy I have every morning is not only getting up but also stepping in my office. I step inside, pause for a moment, and look around at all the books on my shelves. I have almost 10,000 books. And yes, I read every one of them. Well, except for commentaries and dictionaries.
Every once in a while, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage will come into my office while I’m working. She will step in, pause, look all around my office, and then say, “What a mess you have.”
I will look up to her with a big smile on my face and reply, “Where do you see any mess?”
With sort of a grunt in her voice, she says, “Just look all around this office. It’s a mess everywhere. I don’t know how you can work in this environment?”
“It’s not a mess,” I respond to her, “it is my creative décor.”
I’m sure she’s never heard that phrase before, especially coming out of my mouth.
Several times, I walked into her Craft Room and noticed how pristine it is. When I walk in, I get a bit dizzy, and I’m not sure how to get out. Such organization is not my cup of tea.
Unlike The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, I do not have to have everything organized. And the word “messy” is not part of my vocabulary.
Often, I will ask The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, “What do you mean by messy?”
Oh, she will go on a long tirade explaining to me what she considers messy. I listen, but I do not comprehend what she’s saying. Messy is in part of me.
Not too long ago, while she was in her Craft Room, I peeked in and said, “Would you like me to organize your Craft Room?”
She stared at me for a moment and then said, “I think I’m quite all right here. There is nothing here that you can do to organize this room. Just go to your messy office and get back to work.”
Whereas in my “messy office,” I can find anything I want. If I can’t find it, I don’t need it. And if I don’t need it, I’m not going to worry about it. Life can bring you a lot of lemons, but I would rather have ice tea.
Sometimes, as I walk around in my office looking at my library, I see a book I haven’t seen for a long time. With great delight, I go to my chair and begin reading it.
All the books in my office have created a beautiful display that I enjoy every day. Since my retirement, I can go in and out of my office as I please.
As I was sitting in my office, thinking about this, I was reminded of a verse of scripture that addressed it. The Apostle Paul said, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
According to The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, my office may be a mess. That’s not the important issue. The thing that must be organized is my service to the Lord. That is the only thing that is crucial in my everyday life.
Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@ gmail. com, website www.jamessnyderministries.
