Thomas Lyons

Assignment 3

Like clockwork, six forty-five am would roll around every morning and I would hear that same old

alarm. I should probably change it to spark some variety in my life, but who has time to make a change. I

get out of bed and hobble down the hall to the bathroom. After getting done showering and shaving, I

would head back down the hall and get dressed and head to the kitchen for something light to eat. It

wasnt my house. It was Bills. Im only here for the summer because of the internship I have at a church.

Bill is a humble man who lost his wife some years back so its nice to be able to give someone company. I

leave Bills home for the church. I knew it was going to be today that broke the camels back. I blink, and

I am already in my parking spot. I cant argue the forty-five second commute. Its fast but it throws me

into the lions den of my internship.

I enter the stone castle that is the church. Seven buildings in all, its like a labyrinth to navigate. I

think to myself, is it really necessary; but it is to keep the day to day operations of a steeple church running.

I interact with secretary briefly. Our daily nod of the head like one of those birds that dips their head in

water and bobs back up. I sign in and make head for the east end staircase. It leads me right to my office.

Cube Park is what it is called. Four small cubicles, one in each corner of the room. As I get to the top of

the stairs I know what Im walking into. Three pastors talking loudly about the newest news. I could really

care less about what they are talking about but I smile and greet them all with the normal good morning.

The noise level was already past an eleven in that office. If I had my way I would turn it down to a four or

lower. As I laugh at an obnoxious joke, I slip out of the trio and into Cube Park.

I thought it was going to be another one of those long days of sitting at the computer and

answering phone calls. Boy was I far off in my mind. The first hour of work flew by! Checking my mail,

answering two phone calls, and working on some work for an online class I was taking. Then the second

hour hit. Something started to come over me. A feeling of the world speeding up and closing in. The phone

started to ring, my cell phone started to light up with text messages and calls, and my computer screen

was flooded with spam. On top of that two of the pastors had stopped in to give me a load of work they

wanted me to look over throughout the week. All in those few seconds, the noise and interactions were

like that of an Organ Grinder in a house of mirrors. The sound and motion wouldnt stop. And then they

did.

The pastors left, the phone stopped ringing and my cell phone had stopped buzzing and alerting

me of things. No emails flooded my screen and it seemed like the whole world seized. The only thing I

could hear in my office was the tick tock tick tock of the clock on the wall. In that moment, I was

transported into a Captain Hook like trance. Just like when he heard the tick tock of the crocodile in the

Peter Pan Movie. Except this time, it was a tick tock that took me to a peaceful place. Nothing but the

serenity of the sound. I knew what had to be done to get away from it all.

I got up from my desk and took the clock off the wall. I took the batteries out and placed them on

a small filing cabinet so I wouldnt lose them. I went to my phone which had started to ring again and

disconnected the wall cable. The cable dangled there as I began to get a Keith Ledger grin on my face.

After I knew the phone was disabled, I powered down my cell phone so it could no longer connect me to

the world at large. Next was the computer. I simply powered it down and turned off the monitor. As I

listened to the noise in the room, it was finally quiet. I was away from the craziness. Almost. I could still

hear the pastoral staff outside of my door. Quietly, I got up from my desk and shut the door. Before

returning to my seat, I grabbed a bible off one of the other desks in the cubical and turned off the lights.

I sat at my desk and felt around to find my desk light which was hidden amongst the underside of a

suspended cabinet. With that light on I crawled under my desk and escaped to the quiet meditation I was

about to have.

Making myself comfortable was a challenge but there was one spot I was always able to find that

did the trick. Once I achieved that position, I randomly opened the bible to escape into the words I was

about to read. The first passage that I flipped to by chance was the parable of the stormy seas in the book

of Mark. The only thing my eyes were glued to were the middle of the fourth chapter, line thirty nine.

Silence, Be Still. Okay, now Im a believer in the freaky, but that passage for the situations I had been

encountering. Ill take it with a grain of salt. The next passage I flipped to under my desk was that from

Psalms. Again, my eyes were glued to the words when I flipped the pages. Psalms 23 verse 3. He restores

my soul. After reading those two passages I knew I needed to escape from the office. But how.

After thinking about it. I already had escaped the office. My door shut, lights off and no sounds

coming from any appliance. No phone calls to worry about and no work getting done. Just me, and the

quietness of the space under my desk. I meditated and escaped the real world although still in the real

world. I dozed for a time only to be awoken by my own snores. I didnt know how much time had passed

and at this point I really didnt care. I got up from under my desk, opened my office door and hobbled

down the east stairs and out the front door.

The street lights were off, but the sky was on. As I looked up at the night sky, the starts shone

bright like a hidden paradise. As I grabbed for my keys, I realized they were still in my office. Good I

thought. Just me, the stars and the road. I was at peace finally. No sounds of society bustling or phones

ringing. Just the chirps of grasshoppers and creatures of the outside. I walked back to Bills that night. The

pathway was lit by the firefly darkness. The small flickers of light from their tails and the starry night led

me home.

On that walk home the lyrics to a Sherri Porterfield choir anthem came flooding into my mind as

I looked up at the stars that put tomorrow into perspective for me. The lyrics read:

Who sees the morning sun as it hits the dew on the grass.

Or watches the ocean waves strike the rocks with a crash.

Tell me who sees the first snow flake as it falls to the ground,

Or sees a new born bird take its very first bound.

Is there anyone there to witness autumns leaves fall from the trees.

Or watch the metamorphic butterfly as it struggles to be free.

All the miracles of nature, as simple as they may be, are often nearly impossible to see.

Those who take the time, the time to see, natures work as it unfolds,

Will change the way they act.

For theyll own self-worth.

As I got to Bills I looked up at the starts and wondered, could society do what I did for a day? Probably

not. But I had those words from the Porterfield anthem to disconnect with and find an escape whenever

I needed.