The Shrub Outside My Window

Much is expected of bedrooms and bathrooms in the modern home. They must do duty as the rooms in which we sleep and bathe, of course, but they also have the potential to be our personal safe havens, to be our refuge not only from the pressure and pace of the world outside, but also from the activity within the household. They are, in fact, the ultimate sanctuary. ~ Trends, Perfect Bed & Bathroom

It is no wonder that most of us spend so much time decorating and cleaning up our bedrooms. Our bedrooms are our own personal, private retreats from the hustle and bustle of the world outside. They offer us a moment in which we can shut ourselves off from the rest of the world and in which we can be alone with ourselves, as well as with God.

I was pleasantly surprised when I entered my bedroom back here in Penang. Now a king-sized bed lay in it, together with new curtains and new carpeting on the floor. My parents even had the lights changed. One yellow spot light which used to hang on one of the walls was changed into a dim, blue light. I was impressed! Previously, I would sleep in the TV room every time I came home for the holidays. My room would be too dusty and the bed would have broken springs. Now that my room has had a sort of a make-over, I think I will look forward to coming back home more often! The ‘glow in the dark’ stars which I had pasted all over my room walls and ceiling were still there. I had almost forgotten about it until I turned off the lights for the night yesterday. It was beautiful, and memories of my teenage years came flooding back to me.

While looking around my room, I decided to pull back the curtains to a window facing the backyard, totally not expecting another pleasant surprise - there is a little shrub growing outside my window! As I was browsing through one of my parents’ books called ‘Perfect Bed & Bathroom’, I drooled at photographs of bedrooms which had windows facing magnificent gardens. Well, now I have a shrub outside my window, which gave a sense of nature surrounding my bedroom retreat. I talked to my mom about it, and later felt sad when she told me that they planned to get someone to remove it. Well, at least I can enjoy it for a little while more.