Empty Boxes

My dad always loved fixing up a birthday gift. The harder to figure it out, the better in his eyes. The other day I was thinking about one of the birthday gifts I received when I was about 13 or so. He had a lot of fun with it.

It was a huge box -- like table lamp sized. In kid eyes, that automatically means something wonderful. I began opening it and found, inside, another box. And then another in that one. And so forth and so on. When I finally got to the gift, I had done a lot of opening boxes.

The gift was a solar calculator -- one of the first to hit the market at the time (which of course meant it was uber cool) -- and it was slightly larger than a credit card and just a little thicker. I had about 6 or 8 empty boxes sitting on the table next to me when I got to it. I had to work for it. I had searched through all those empty boxes looking for a gift.

Our calendar hangs on our fridge in a conspicuous spot. I often call it 'my brain.' Everything, and I mean everything, is written there. I have dog medications reminders and school schedules. If you see a "LBD" on one that means our library books are due. "LNJ" reminds me to write a letter to our sponsored kids. If I'm supposed to remember to bring something somewhere, you may see a note that says "Take brownies" or "book to" so-and-so. Every month has at least one "nursery" written on it and multiple kid's activities not to mention numbers that indicate when I work. Often there are even reminders like "postcards" written on boxes so that I do what needs to be done. At the beginning of each week is the initial of one of my children's names so that they know who has the extra chores that week. And, well, you can imagine how it looks.

What I find myself looking for more often than not on our calendar is the next empty box. When will I not have any demands on my time or to-do lists or reminders for a day. Today is such a day. An empty box. What a gift!

How precious is our time! An empty box always reminds me that I need to stop and appreciate all that life is -- all that God has blessed me with. I think He provides those empty boxes for just that purpose. It is a day to rest. To count our blessings. And to thank Him for all of them.

It is a time to be reminded that sometimes an empty box holds a gift. And sometimes, an empty box IS a gift.