Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, May 2018]

Another week gone, a new one starting. Sometimes the days all seem the same. Sometimes it is like you’re stuck in a rut. Some days, it feels like inspiration has sprouted wings and flown and you’re rooted to the spot. We all have moments like this; for most of us, this passes quickly, but for some, not quick enough. I came across this poem and I hope it helps lift you whenever those moments come.

The Two Boxes
I have in my hands two boxes
Which God gave me to hold
He said, “Put all your sorrows in the black,
And all your joys in the gold.”

I heeded his words, and in the two boxes
Both my joys and sorrows I store
But though the gold became heavier each day
The black was as light as before

With curiosity, I opened the black
I wanted to find out why
And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole
Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud,
“I wonder where my sorrows could be.”
He smiled a gentle smile at me.
“My child, they’re all here with me.”

I asked, “God, why give me the boxes,
“Why the gold, and the black with the hole?”
“My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,
The black is for you to let go.”

–Author Unknown—

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