The Unshakeable Room

The Unshakeable Room

(“So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe.” Hebrews 12:28)

I tried every door, tested every lock,
tried to gain admittance, you rang the bell,
I knocked on the door until it echoed back to
my knuckles on the wood.

There was rubble all around me, but I wasn’t
sure why. The buildings had just been standing proudly
the day before.
But I stood at the threshold the only edifice left unbroken.
It was a home, it was a bungalow,
it was the dwelling of a handful of vagabonds
who insisted the world was not their final home.

I listened for their voices. They seemed coarse,
almost hoarse. Had they not used them, had they
vowed away their noise for silence?
Someone turned the handle, and the door curved
on its hinges slowly, without creaking. It was a
heavy wood and dark, maybe mahogany. A large man
filled the frame and invited me in.

I turned around to look
one more time
at the debris behind me and wondered how this simple
abode stayed standing all alone.
The man croaked lowly at me, inviting me in
and I turned my head around once more to see
my bearded host bid me come. It was dark inside,
illuminated by candles. Half a dozen sat around a
large table in the middle of the room. They were laughing
in the midst of tragedy. They were waiting for others to
seek sanctuary. They were sending invitations up the road
as far as they could see.

I did not know how they escaped
destruction,
but I knew I needed the instruction they could give. I knew
there would be others at the door, so I took a platter,
ate and drank what I needed, and asked permission to welcome
others up and down the block to the unshakeable room.