Thursday, August 18, 2011

Thoughtful Thursday -- Cardboard Boxes

My best friend in junior high was a girl whose parents had lost three sons, two of them before she was born. One died at birth, one died at the age of ten from cancer, and one died at the age of 18 in a car accident.  She was in third grade when her third brother died, and I met her when I moved to Arkansas in the summer before our seventh grade year.  Her parents were always so kind to me...I had absolutely no idea the weight of grief they must have been living under.

I ran across a poem the other day by a man named Joseph Bayly, from his book titled "Psalms of My Life".  Mr. Bayly knows something about the crushing weight of grief, having lost three children himself.  It really touched me, and I think it will touch you, too.


"A Psalm While Packing Books"

This cardboard box
Lord
see it says
Bursting limit
100 lbs. per square inch.
The box maker knew
how much strain
the box would take
what weight
would crush it.
You are wiser
than the box maker
Maker of my spirit
my mind
my body.
Does the box know
when pressure increases close to
the limit?
No
It knows nothing.
But I know
when my breaking point
Is near.
And so I pray
Maker of my soul
Determiner of the pressure
within
upon
me
Stop it
lest I be broken
Or else
change the pressure rating
of this fragile container
of your grace
so that I may bear more.


2 comments:

Kecia said...

Wow, that is good.

A Mother's Love said...

What beautiful words. My heart goes out to that family, even this many years later.
Love you, Kelley