Saying Good-bye to an Old Friend

As you read this--my first (last?) blog post ever!--I will be in a heavy metal tube flying above the North Pole in search of a land down under. I hope, like Captain Cook, to make it safely to Brisbane's port. (If not, then this is my last post. See my forthcoming book on Ecclesiastes for further thoughts on death.)

Speaking of books, this is my desk. Or, was my desk. We bought it for $50 years ago, gave it to Natalie and Joseph DiCicco as part of a wedding gift, and thus made about a zillion dollar heavenly profit in doing so.

There are few things I will miss more than my good old desk (sorry family and friends). I feel like I"m leaving behind my sixth child. Along with my favorite red lamp, my ancient black framed painting of the angel of the Lord destroying the world, and my old pajama shorts that Emily has tried to destroy for 15 years, my quiver is surely full.

Back to the desk. I wrote all my books, many sermons, and half a blog post on this now sacred wooden shrine. Nearly a million published words were penned (i.e. typed) atop this leather top! So, no pressure, Joseph, to duplicate my labors of love. I expect at least one Haiku to Natalie. Then you can put the TV on it, spill soda and let it sit for a week, practice Karate, sacrifice oxen, or whatever other plans you have for it.

There is something freeing, as the illustrious Sting once wrote, to letting people (things?) go. Free, free, set them (read: "it") free. By God's grace, I'm glad I'm not attached to material things. (Stay tuned for my next blog, where I list all my sins, starting with "pride in not loving possessions.") When I became a Christian, God used the story of the young, rich ruler to help me bow before the lordship of Christ. Jesus asked that man to sell everything, give the money to the poor, and then follow him. The man refused because "he had many possessions" (read: "many possessions had him!"). I am thankful for God's call to move down under, and in the process, to sell or give away just about everything we own. It has been a real heart-check. I will, of course, buy a new desk when we arrive. How else will I become a world famous blogger? But, I hope and pray, in all the possessions I accumulate in Oz, they won't destroy my soul. Even desks can be dangerous. For, as our all-wise Lord wisely said, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?"