Why Labels Are So Important

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Wow, What a Week!!!

It’s finally here, the week we have planned for quite some time…Digging thru storage and going thru boxes to determine what to keep, sell, or donate has been a daunting task.

We knew the movers were coming on Monday so we had to decide what furniture would go upstairs in the area provided for us by our son-in-law and daughter which we refer to as “Meme & Papa’s Apartment”. Then, we had to determine what we wanted to use to decorate with. So, off to storage we go…Digging thru furniture, boxes, and more boxes. Richard loads up the trailer and moves our “stuff” over to the garage so the movers can haul the heavy furniture upstairs for us.

Then, as if that was not enough work for us… we took delivery on our new 5th wheel so we also needed more “stuff” to set that up. This of course meant even more boxes!
And, you guessed it…The boxes of “stuff” were my assignment. Thankfully all the boxes were labeled which would make this process so much easier…WRONG! The boxes were labeled sure enough but of no help whatsoever!!! For example: Several boxes were labeled “Dishes”…Well, what does that mean? Dishes for serving, eating, cooking…What does dishes mean? So, like any good soldier I began opening each box and unwrapping each dish to determine its type. Then, as I went through each box, I discovered some boxes did not contain dishes at all.

As I unwrapped the contents of each box I realized this labeling process happens to people all the time. So often people are labeled based on a snapshot of their appearance, actions, or mannerisms. And, for many the label written on the exterior of a person is so very different from what actually exists on the inside.

The man standing on the street corner holding up a sign “Will work for food” may have a physical or mental ailment which prevents him from maintaining a job and is doing his best to feed his wife and children.
That snippy sales clerk might have just been chewed out by a customer before you walked up and he or she is trying to recover from the embarrassment.
The woman standing in line at the grocery store who appears distant and depressed may be grieving the loss of a child
The kid who sleeps through class each day may not be able to sleep at night because of a unstable home life.
The alcoholic stumbling in the street may be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and trying to cope
The woman with bruises up and down her arms may have just moved several boxes which were probably heavier than she should have lifted

And OMGosh…I just remembered a perfect example! Richard was pastoring a church and he informed the congregation he would be growing a beard. The beard, he explained was to serve as a reminder to pray for the members of First Baptist Church Brazoria while they prepared for the annual Passion Play. You should have seen the looks on people’s faces when he was introduced in the community as a pastor. Yep, some even label people for having facial hair!

Bottom line we all can be very judgmental at times and should use caution when labeling people because sometimes the wrong label can stick with someone their entire life. And, the label on the outside of the box may not match the contents on the inside!!!