This week I developed a new appreciation for the humble waste paper basket. For me it is currently one of life’s little luxuries, which, given time, I will no doubt take for granted once again. But right now I am revelling in being able to lean back in my chair that is now positioned in front of my brand new IKEA desk and, with one deft swing, throw the discarded notes from my latest talk straight into the waste paper basket under said desk. It is a luxury to me because, for seven years, I have not had a desk of my own. I have learnt to be quite ‘portable’, moving my laptop and various other bits and pieces from the end of the kitchen table to a fold-up card table wherever I can find a quiet spot in the house and then back again, according to who is around and what is happening in our family at any strategic point in time. I have written five novels in this mode. But now everything’s changed. Now I have my own quite large desk, where I can pile up all my paraphernalia and LEAVE IT THERE, in a corner of my daughter’s old bedroom. I can simply reach out and pick up the various resources I use often in writing and preparing talks, instead of having to get up and hunt for them somewhere else in the house. I can swivel around in my chair and (almost) reach books on my brand new bookshelves nearby. And I can definitely throw my discarded pearls of wisdom in the bin beneath my desk, without having to make yet another trip to the kitchen bin. Yes, my waste paper basket is to me a symbol of my new-found freedom – a sign that I have definitely come up in the world.
All of this buying and assembling and reorganising of furniture in our house has made me think, however. We live in a very small house. We don’t earn much – in fact, very little, at this stage of our lives. But truly we have been given a lot of luxuries that I at least so easily take for granted. How would it be if, for a change, I thanked God for all the things I do have, instead of complaining about what I don’t have? How would that change me and make life happier for those around me as well?
And while I’m at it, perhaps I should remember that even though my new writing space and its contents are all wonderful luxuries to me, they are just material things and won’t last forever. After all, my real treasure’s in heaven, as Jesus told his disciples:
Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:20-21)
So yes, I’m planning to enjoy my new desk and bookshelves – and waste paper basket! I’ll be thankful for them often, but I’ll try to hold onto them lightly too.
How about you? Where’s your treasure?
Jo-Anne Berthelsen's Blog 