And Then We Are Born

And Then We Are Born

(“You teach me the way of life. In your presence is total celebration. Beautiful things are always in your right hand.” Psalm 16:11)

Lastly I want to say that I am an
archipelago and not a continent,
though the ants that sting my feet might disagree.
(I know you think you’ve found all the
ground you can cover in me,
but there is more to be discovered than
you or I perceive.)

You see my present, and think you know my past.
I am flooded with every act from middle to last.
You see my blunders, I bathe in them daily.
My intentions are more gloomy than you have imagined.

For I am dark jungle and the brightest beach,
barren desert and living reef,
artesian spring and salted sea,
I live in the margins not in the
clarity I wished and believed an
infant life could be.

No one shames the tree for the shadow it casts,
nor blames the sun for not piercing the tree,
the tree and the sun are one.

I hated the middle, the mud, the dark
and assumed the light would change me at last.
But I am tree and sun, dirt and air,
castaway and citizen,
a single soul containing the universe with all its
cold void and searing stars.

Some traveled with me through the overgrowth,
some left when they saw I might be lost,
some welcomed me at the caravansary,
some left provisions and went swimming.
Others wandered with me, overland, between the
boundaries of dusky light. We knew each other better
for our simplicity and loved each other more in the
complexities of soul no one can explain.

We learned new languages and geography;
history was abandoned as we waited for water
and listened to the stories we told. We did not know
if we were younger than the universe, or old.
But the Creator’s light cast shadows in the heat
and brightened the songs we once thought torn by the
unwelcome complications of the moment, the journey,
the untransformed.

And then we are born.

Reasons to Celebrate

“Remember this month as a time when our sorrow was turned to joy, and celebration took the place of crying. Celebrate by having parties and by giving to the poor and by sharing gifts of food with each other.” Esther 9:22

There was a 5 year old girl with eyes as round as saucers and her 7 year old sister with her blonde hair with French braids. There was a young teenage girl, quiet and shy and her mom. They could be twins if they weren’t mom and daughter. There was a set of twins, one married a little over a year to her man who carries the heart of a donor within his mid-20s chest. The other twin, a single mom, has seen her life take a full 180 degree turn for the better in recent months. There was a grandmother who has struggled with drug use, but her face reflects both her past, and something new within. And there was veteran who walks with a cane; the result of a broken back in service to his country. A man who would give away all he had to help those in need around him.

Celebrate: You are Invited!

Celebrate: You are Invited!

(from our church's monthly newsletter)

“But we should be glad and celebrate! Your brother was dead, but he is now alive. He was lost and has now been found.” Luke 15:32

Our young people were gathered in the parking lot preparing to leave together for Youth Convention. I like to meet with them and pray for the group before they leave. After praying that they would all have a fresh encounter with God, meet new friends and be kept safe as they traveled, their leader explained the rules.