So we managed to survive the transfer of the Essex box fort to become the Devon box fort! The removal men were really good and it was surprisingly swift. I would say that it was at the lower end of possible stress levels for a move, although we’re both really tired now.

Most rooms still have residual boxes in them, and please don’t look in the garage, but we have managed to find most of the important things (eventually). I took apart my desk before the move and put the eight screws in a safe place. I put almost all the important screws in a compartment in my tool box. But of course, for reasons I can’t remember, I didn’t put the desk screws in that compartment. I have unpacked all of the likely boxes, all of the unlikely but still possible ones, and looked in all the drawers in my study units.

Nope.

In the garage in our new manse there are some jars of screws, bolts, nuts, washers, nails and other useful bits and pieces hanging by their lids that are screwed into a shelf above (see below). These were left by the previous occupants, but have the look of something that has been a fixture here for many years. I had a rummage in the relevant jar and managed to find four that fitted so that I could reattach the keyboard shelf. However there was nothing to match the other four. Some were the right width and thread, but too long. Others were the right length but the wrong thread. In the end a visit to the local DIY superstore enabled me to find some that were just right. (Is it just me or does this sound a bit like a DIY version of Goldilocks and the 3 bears!)

So, in the end the desk is not complete, most books are on the shelves and my workspace is usable.

Why am I telling you this innocuous story? Well, little things can make a big difference. Compared to the rest of the desk eight screws don’t really look much. But without them the desk was not as useful as it now is. You may not think you are significant, but you matter. You are useful.

In the New Testament there’s a tiny little letter that Paul wrote to a friend of his called Phil (okay, Philemon, but give me credit for trying to be contemporary). Phil had a slave (different times) called Onesie (Onesimus) who ran away. You can’t blame Onesie for seeking his freedom. But he bumped into Paul, who suggested that he should go back to Phil’s house, and he wrote him a letter to take back and explain that there were new circumstances (Onesie had become a follower of Jesus).

It seems that Onesie had not been a particularly good slave. But Paul wrote in the letter, “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.” Onesie’s full name actually means ‘useful’ (ironically).

And that’s the point I am trying to make. Onesie was regarded as useless, but Paul saw his potential and how he could live up to his name.

Be blessed, be a blessing