Think Outside - Life in a Box Prayer Blog

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lori strawn I've grown weary of the phrase "think outside the box." Box? What box? But then, I got to pondering. I live on the east side of a medium-large town. It takes maybe 20 minutes to get as far west as one would want to go.

Yet I don't know anything about the west side. It might as well be 1,000 miles away. I'm perfectly happy to shop, eat and do all the business of living here on the east side.

I live in a box.

In some ways, we all live in a box, whether it's self-imposed by geography, time constraints, fears or plain, old habit. How rarely we venture out of our comfort zones! I mean, they're called "comfort zones" for a reason. Who wants to be voluntarily uncomfortable? Not me.

Sometimes life conspires to force us out of our boxes. Some people even enjoy pushing themselves beyond their limitations. Not me. I'm happy here in my box on the east side, thank you very much. Only sometimes you don't get to choose. How you react to that may very well reveal your true nature.

Some of you know that I do a radio show for Prayables called "Open Book." I actually kind of hate being on the radio. I don't like the sound of my nasally voice; I am always nervous that my brain will disconnect, leaving my mouth empty and the airwaves silent. But I do it anyway. I do it because I care about Prayables and because I want to share my spiritual relationship to literature. I want to help people, or at least make them feel good. And that outweighs my fear. It busts me out of my box, so to speak.

What box do you live in? What would it take to push you out of it? Would it make you a better person? Think about it. Then contemplate this marvelous Prayable by Sue Bradford Edwards. May the only boxes we live in be those of our choosing. And even then, may they be expansive.

Reaching Up and Out

When I feel that I cannot truly help,
please help me reach up to You.
Lend me Your strength so that I can see,
that although I cannot fix the problem itself,
there are a hundred other things
that I can do to bring comfort
and a hint of You into her day.
Please help me reach up to You,
so that I may reach out in love.

-Sue Bradford Edwards

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Prayers by Lori Strawn
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