Empty Boxes

By Belinda

I arrived at a home that I had not been to before, for a meeting last week. Even as I approached the front door, there was a sense of neatness, order and beauty. Inside, the warm welcome of the inhabitants was echoed by the home, as it wrapped itself around me with the warmth of the colours on the walls, and the atmosphere of comfort and hosptitality.

Before the four of us started our discussion on the topic of the meeting, the two other women mentioned being regular readers of this blog. I felt humbled and a little embarrassed. It is a great honour that anyone chooses to read here but I was caught off guard when I thought about how "off the cuff" some of my writing can be.

This was further reinforced when one of the women referred to my post of a couple of weeks ago about the church business meeting, and my (backfiring) attempt at humour. In my determination not to be stereotyped as a lover of Gaither music just because I am over 50, I had managed to do the thing that I was resisting for myself--I stereotyped lovers of the Gaithers!

The woman sitting across from me laughed as she mentioned that her dear late husband had been a "Gaitherite" and that his final revenge on a younger member of their family, had been to have her sing,
I’m Free at his funeral.

Her words fell like a gentle rebuke, although she did not intend them to. How little I had considered the reach of my words. She promised to send me a relevant poem that her Aunt Erma Davision had written, which was published in To a World, with Love by the Bible Christian Union (79.) With her permission, I share it here as the message is so true and one that I need reminding of (occasionally! :)) Thank you Paula!

Empty Boxes

Father
help me to not
put people
in boxes
labelled
*"worldly"
"unspiritual"
"liberal"
"gaitherite"

What's the use?

they keep escaping
my self-made cubicles

and I'm stuck
with all these

empty boxes!

*Please insert your own labels

Blessings to you on this good day of empty boxes. :) 

Comments

Marilyn said…
This totally hits home with me, not just the "boxing" but also the unsettling feeling as discovering someone reads your blog. I find myself mentally backtracking through my archives. I think other bloggers don't do this, but am probably wrong.
Marian said…
Keep up the good work. I read your blog because you love Jesus and you are transparent. There's a stereotype for you...you are clearly a Jesusite.
Belinda said…
Yes, Marilyn, I totally do that too. Part of me thinks, "Really? Oh-oh, what did I write?" :)

And Marion, thank you. I truly am humbled and honoured both by your comment and by the "stereotype!" :)
When I run into a blog reader I'm immediately struck at how much they know about me and how little I know about them, it's an imbalance that can make things very socially awkward. I loved the boxes poem and the idea that, in the end, the boxes are empty.

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