630-484-2336 ben@bedo.org

Christmas time is coming around and I’m seeing all these boxes.

Boxes in the mail, boxes in the stores, boxes in my home, boxes, boxes, boxes. And I realize

And I realized that all the boxes look the same–especially when they’re wrapped up with pretty paper and a bow.  We don’t know what’s in the box.  It’s just a box, with something inside.  And that something could be anything.

Look at a child (or some adults for that matter) as they examine a Christmas (or birthday) present.  What’s in the box?  It could be a book.

It could be a book.  If that’s the case, what kind of book?  A cookbook?  (Like “The Joy of Potato Salad”.)  A landscape picture book?  A biography?  An instruction manual for your new computer?

Or maybe there’s that new laptop computer inside the box, or a DVD box set, or a bowling ball.

It could be a photo album, a new phone, a puppy, bath salts, 18-year-old Scotch or rare flower bulbs.

Or it could be something small, like a pin, a jar of pickles, a diamond ring or a gift card to a restaurant or the keys to a car.

It could be vitamins, condoms, shaving cream, cereal, a stack of post-it notes, stamps, or even just a card that says, “I love you.”

Maybe even a jar of toenail clippings, a bag of banana peels and apple cores or someone’s leftover laundry that accidentally got boxed and wrapped.

The possibilities are endless.  And you won’t know what it actually will be until the day comes when you open your gift.

 

So the next time someone tells you to “look oustide the box” perhaps you might actually take a look inside the box first.  You just might discover a wonderful gift is waiting for you.