Journey of the Heart / Jennifer Burger

With God and Jesus in our hearts, we cannot be ‘boxed’ in

I love a good box! Those who feel the same way that I do can identify these boxes in an instant—sturdiness is definitely high on the list, as is size, and perhaps even a unique design that begs to be kept for some good reason rather than to be broken down and added to the recycling bin.

What really defines a good box is its usefulness—to satisfy a need—for sending a care package, packing up items for a move, using as gift boxes for those odd-shaped items that are hard to wrap or storing things that don’t have a permanent home. Sometimes these needs are apparent, but most often for us box lovers, the motto is, “You never know when you need a good box!”

Having things in their place and being organized are important to me, so many of these boxes have been put to good use; however, we seem to have an abundance of these empty cardboard vessels that remain unused and are taking up space in our basement. The funny (or odd) thing about this is that I sometimes find myself starting to organize my empty boxes—as if to create some purpose in having them at all!

Our hearts can look much like my basement with empty strongholds that we reserve for our “what if’s” and “if only’s.”

I’m not talking about dreams and goals, but things and ideas of the world to which we are attracted and attached and that we try to give meaning to, but that serve no purpose in living life in abundance as God so desires for us. We hold fast to these empty promises or beliefs, creating space for resentment, anxiety, disappointment, etc., leaving little room for God in our hearts.

There are days when I find myself more irritable or needy than others and these less-than-virtuous feelings arise—feelings that I know are not of God. At the end of the day when I do a nightly Examen, I can empty these spaces, offering them to God and asking for the graces I need for the next day. This is very helpful, but I may find myself in the same place sometime later filled with these feelings again, and I realize that I need to look not just at what I’m storing in my heart, but also the place or receptacle that is holding this disease in my heart.

You may have heard the phrase, “You cannot put God in a box.” I don’t know if there is any theological truth to this, but it applies to us in these situations: if only goodness comes from God, and you can’t put God in a box, then the empty boxes in our heart can only hold what is not of God and might indicate a stronghold we need to examine more carefully.

Dismantling our strongholds can be tedious work, but for God it is as easy as breaking down a cardboard box! With his help, it is possible. It may start with a prayer to make more room for God—for Jesus—in our hearts. We can start unpacking these boxes with a priest or spiritual director. And in the sacrament of reconciliation, we can give these boxes as “care packages” to God who will promptly put them in the recycle bin!

As for me, I can still appreciate a good box, but I don’t need the clutter in my house. When there is truly a need for a good box one can be found. God always provides!
 

(Jennifer Burger is program manager at Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House in Indianapolis and a member of St. Simon the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis. She is also a spiritual director.) †