Leave Some Room

When I order cof­fee at a place where they pour it for you, I always tell them to leave plenty of room for cream. I like hav­ing my cof­fee just like I like it. I do the same with the rest of my life. I leave room for things. The shelves in my office and my home are not full. They await the next sur­prise gift. My cup­boards stay pretty empty. I may get some wild idea about some new cui­sine that I want to add to my rather lim­ited list of quickly fix­able foods.

I do the rest with my emo­tional and spir­i­tual life. I leave room for new inter­pre­ta­tions, new expe­ri­ences, new per­spec­tives, and new under­stand­ings. There is inten­tion in my doing so. A bless­ing arises with each pos­si­bil­ity. No, I do not have a pat answer for every­thing. My pol­i­tics are always open to changes — as is my the­ol­ogy, phi­los­o­phy, psy­chol­ogy, and my take on history.

As far as I am con­cerned, the jury is still out on most sig­nif­i­cant sub­jects. There is always room for new evi­dence. Oth­ers seek clo­sure so they can feel secure. Me? I leave an open­ing for all pos­si­bil­i­ties. Tying up loose ends can be an excuse for clos­ing one’s mind. Have the courage to just leave it open. Trust God enough to leave a few things up in the air.

What is the hurry? Why do you need to fill all of the gaps? God resides in the vac­uum — the empty space. Do not push Deity out for the sake of clo­sure. Let God have room for mys­tery, poten­tial, pos­si­bil­i­ties, and the unspo­ken unknowns of life that give it flavor.