Cardboard Boxes, Empty Spaces, and a New Chapter of Life

Have you ever noticed at the end of one chapter of a book, the author (or perhaps it’s the publisher) intentionally leaves some space before moving onto the next chapter?

Sure, one could argue that it’s solely done as a means to properly format a book; but after looking around my bedroom at the all the cardboard boxes and all the empty spaces in between, I tend to think the empty spaces in books (and the empty spaces in life) need more attention and more credit than we oftentimes give them.

The spaces in between chapters of a book are there to help you pause.

They’re there to help you reflect on what you’ve learned and remember the people you’ve grown to know and love along the journey.

They’re there to help you make sense of things past and prepare you for things to come.

As I sit here in my bedroom surrounded by the smell of cardboard boxes and the sounds of the people I love moving about the house, I realize that the empty spaces in my room are much like the spaces in between chapters of a book.

The spaces where things once were decorated, hung, folded, and set in my room are now reminders to me that life changes oh-so-fast. The spaces conjure memories for sure, but they also beg me to stop and pause. Pause and thank God for all He’s given to me. For all He’s done and for all He’s going to continue to do. Pause and remember that He’s the Grand Weaver in all of the events of my life. And pause and acknowledge that He’s always up to writing a story for my ultimate good and His ultimate glory (even if I don’t see all the interworkings of His grand design and plan).

As I’m thanking God for all He’s done, I can’t help but reflect on all He’s taught me this year and how He’s grown me up to love Him more than I did before – even just one year ago. I also can’t help but remember the people He’s brought into my life this year to grow me and strengthen me (and hopefully, vice versa) and the eternal significance of the friendships and bonds that were formed within just one year’s timing.

One question that has been coming up often to me is this: “Why did you just move ‘home’ for a year?”

That’s a good and very valid question. I could make up an answer that sounds good, but if I’m being honest with you, I don’t know all the answers to that question. All I know is that this time last year, God called my heart back home to family, and He added friends who became like family along the way. It wasn’t easy to leave Lynchburg, but I felt it was the right thing to do. The very thing God was asking me to do.

Now He’s asking me to return to Lynchburg. It’s exciting, but it’s still not easy. Transition and change have always been difficult for me. When I used to live in Lynchburg before, I’d always say my passion was in Lynchburg, but my heart was still in Jacksonville. Quickly, though, I’m realizing that neither are bound by geography alone, yet are both a part of the process God’s using in my life to make me more like Him.

As I’m working through the bitter-sweetness of this move, my mind constantly reverts to the lyrics in a song I once learned at church:

Where He leads me I will follow,


Where He leads me I will follow,


Where He leads me I will follow,


I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

Although I don’t know the answers to some questions people may have, I do know this: my previous years in Lynchburg prepared me for this one year in Florida, and I’m certain God used this one year in Florida to prepare me for the next chapter of my life in Lynchburg – how ever long or short that chapter may be is still to be determined. All I know is God is good. His love stretches farther than mine. His plan far outweighs mine. His very presence is in the details of the seemingly blank spaces of my life.

With all said, I wonder about you…what are the spaces in your season of life prompting you to do right now?

Pause? Reflect on lessons learned? Remember people who God’s brought into your life? Make sense of things past? Allow Him to prepare you for things to come?

Whatever it is, give the spaces the attention and credit they are due.

The smell of cardboard boxes won’t linger forever.

Make sure you’re ready for the next chapter when it comes.

Life Lesson Learned from a Hit and Run

Hit and Run

I don’t know how your Saturday morning started. Perhaps, it was a “normal“ day for you and your family. I surely hope so. My family, however, was not quite-so-lucky this morning.

It all started when I, unusually, awoke from my sleep at a bright-and-early-time-before-7:30-a.m. this morning. This may not sound so off-base for many of you early risers, but let me remind you: I’m a teacher. And it’s a Saturday. In the summertime. Needless to say, 7:30 a.m. isn’t my go-to wake-up call for a summertime Saturday. In fact, if I had anything to do with it, 7:30 a.m. wouldn’t even be on my radar.

Shortly after waking up, the doorbell rang and was followed by a knock at the front door. Dad answered the door to greet two of our neighbors, who apparently had a third-party, not-so-great story to share with us. From there, it all unraveled.

An unknown driver hit three of the cars parked in front of our house. And didn’t stick around to leave any explanation or any evidence as to why. Well, let me take that back, the driver didn’t leave any evidence – except for the left front headlight that fell off of her car in the process. After examining the remains of this hit-and-run, we called the police. And a policeman, who doesn’t believe in playing games, promptly came to take a look at the scene and then proceeded to investigate further by taking a drive around the neighborhood. Considering the fact that there’s a ridiculous number of Pontiac Grand Am’s missing a front left headlight in our neighborhood (I think the number is inching towards 5.), the task to find the culprit seemed quite daunting at first. However, as my parents decided to take a Saturday stroll through the neighborhood later in the morning, a car on the other side of our neighborhood fit the exact description of the one headlight at the scene of the incident. As I type, the cops are on their way to our house – yet again.  And though the exact details are yet unknown and stories are yet to be told, I’m certain justice will ensue.

As cliché as it is to say, it’s true: “In every bad situation, there’s always good to be found.” In this case, everyone in my family is okay, and cars can always be fixed. But perhaps, what’s more upsetting than the actual event and the left-over damage from it all is the lack of responsibility of the person who did it. The lack of ownership, honesty, and integrity.

In times like this, we always have options we can take and choices to make. We can focus on being angry about what happened, but we can’t reverse it. We can focus on getting justice to this situation, but it will only scratch the surface of the real (and much deeper) issues at play in the life of the person responsible. We can focus on the long road of cop conversations, insurance red tape, random neighbor TMI, and car repairs. Along the way, appointments will be made, stories will be shared, people will be met, and lessons are sure to be learned – by all involved. It’s not fun, but I’m sure it’s all happening for a reason, or perhaps many reasons, far beyond our control or comprehension.

As silly as it all sounds, I’ve already found a spiritual parallel in the midst of it all. The person responsible for all the damage to my family’s cars last night clearly made a wrong turn somewhere. I’m not just referring to a wrong turn (or lack of turn) in the road; but, on a much grander scale, they’re clearly making some consistent wrong turns in life. In the midst of a BIG wrong turn last night, they left behind one of the most valuable assets their car had to offer – their headlight.

Stick with me for a second….What are headlights on a car used for? Lighting the way, right? They’re there to help with guidance and direction. They try to help you make sure you stay the course.

I feel like sometimes our lives can be like the crazy driver from last night’s Hit-three-Hill-family-cars-and-keep-truckin’ episode. We clearly miss the mark. If we’re honest, we know that we all make wrong turns in life, at some point or another. Maybe our wrong turns aren’t taken from behind the wheel of a car, but in some shape or another, we all miss the mark. We. All. Do. But, what’s worse, is this: we leave our light at the scene of the accident. We don’t go back, take a look at what’s happened, and pick up helpful remnants that rightfully belong to us and use them to help guide us back to the path we need to be on.

Granted, not all of our poor decisions will land us an actual, physical jail cell like this one perhaps will for my neighbor. In fact, most of them probably won’t. But all poor choices and wrong turns have consequences. I wonder… how many of us go back and own our mistakes? How many of us are willing to pick up the remnants of our poor decisions and actually deal with their consequences? Yes, it’s sometimes a messy thing to do. But cleaning up a mess is far better than trying to continuously deal with concealing one.

            Today, go back to the scene of the wrong turn, own the accident, and deal with the mess. Not only is it the right thing to do, but your headlight is also waiting there to guide you back home.