Empty Boxes

(I haven't been writing much this week, but friends, I am reading about writing; isn't that a good thing?--So tonight I'm publishing a post from the past--from April 2010. Some of those nuggets in the back drawer bear repeating!) 

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

Cindy said…
Unrelated to your post, or quite frankly, almost anything recently, on another blog that I read, they were talking about Grown Up Music and the descriptions of a few of the albums made me think they might appeal to you if you haven't heard of these artists yet.

Cindy said…
http://thepioneerwoman.com/entertainment/2013/07/summertime-tunes-for-grown-ups/

I guess I should have add the link before I hit Publish Your Comment!
Anonymous said…
I like the poem about boxes. I've fought being put in a box all my life. I strongly dislike labels. I go out of my way to prove that what people may see and expect is not what they get. I in turn try very hard not to make assumptions of others. Empty boxes are only good for moving on or for storing all your own problems. If we encourage instead of criticize we may find we run out of labels. Enjoy your time of reading and refreshing.
Belinda said…
Cindy, I went to the blog and bookmarked it. I can't wait to look up some of the music and give it a listen. I loved that the blog writer says she channels Lucille Ball. I love Lucy! Ha ha!
Belinda said…
Anonymous, Yes, I love the poem too, and glad it is being read again today. I too, dislike boxes; putting others into them (although I still do that sometimes;) and definitely being put in one myself! I like your use of boxes much better. :)

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