The Footsteps were Relentless

The Footsteps were Relentless

(“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6)

He awoke to the sounds of the city just beginning
and blinked the night from out of his eyes.
His sons had already left for the day and this
wife kissed him goodbye moments before his eyes were opened.

He felt like orbits had spun around him unchanging for
year after year. There was love enough for everyone in
his small house and family yet he felt unsettled, and
he was embarrassed to say, deeply lonely.

He knew the incongruity that left him well tanned on the outside,
and shuddering sad within. Face to face he had
little to say though he knew his words carried more meaning
than ages ago.

He barely remembered what it was like to shop for gifts
until the perfect one jumped off the shelf and came prewrapped.
He wished he could shop anonymously, but now he lived in
a rural village and no one was new. He felt guilty about that
too.
Why would anyone avoid the friendly glances of neighbors
and friends. He thought he had run out of things to say
and the rest got caught in his throat. He had been captured
by his words so often that he rationed them like rain.

He had to admit, in his quiet moments, that though he
was often misunderstood,
he also was asked for wisdom he was not sure he had.

He could not argue with mercy; he could not debate with goodness.
The tiniest footsteps crept up on him over time,
like a grandchild wanting to surprise Papa with their hands
over his eyes.
He could not deny the eternal home he had found;
he could not explain the melancholy that captured him
mid-sentence when he only wished he could sing better.

He got out of bed and, walking, listened for the footsteps
chasing him down, the footsteps he recognizes everywhere.
His mind clattered with unease and built fences to keep
his precious wounds out of sight. But the footsteps were
relentless, and he stopped to try half a conversation
in the late morning sun.

A Perfumed Existence

A Perfumed Existence

(“Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house as long as I live.” Psalm 23:6)

You don’t know it, but you should,
you have no apologies to make, you have
nothing to improve. Have you noticed who
has been following you?
There is only warmth within, only beauty,
there is only a perfumed existence from
beginning to last. Come out and play,
it is time,
it is time;
find the rain like ballet,
feel the grass, smell the clover,
let the wind, let the spirit turn you like
you used to. Let the music answer the
cry that
you mistook for smallness. Let the tunes
spin you playfully, you are more than the
angels. You are more,
you are more.

There are streams of words left
everywhere you go, there are unspoken flowers
that hover in the air everywhere you breathe.
You don’t know it, and I wish you could,
see the eyes that see you, see the delights
you bring to heaven and earth. You are
undiminished,
you are brighter than starlight.
You are a wanderer, but you are found;
you are a stranger, but you are a lover.
You are created by wonder, you are
enchantment.
Believe it by noticing who has been
following you…
…and who follows you still.

See-Through Walls

See-Through Walls

(“Whoever despises his neighbor sins, but whoever is gracious to the needy is blessed.” Proverbs 14:21)

When your only solution is see-through walls

to keep out the undesirables,
they’ll see you with your big black boots
kicking the water jugs away from their reach.

When the beaches are scattered with tanners who have
plans for the evening but not for the night,
the rafts arrive silently on the slow red tide.

The imperfect walk among us,
the last are heading the list,
the assault upon our senses needs
new thoughts and amendments,
the first are refusing to list.

Slant away from your stakes in the ground,
lean toward the limps and the moths,
leave your foundation, forsake the partition
that divides the planet in pieces. How is peace
conditional upon common dialects when your
own words are swallowed beneath the crosses
you’ve burned.

The wind has shifted again, the immigrants sing.
The wind is blowing again, the refugees flee
for open shores, a hope and reports of grace beyond
purple mountains sea-to-sea. The song
is sung again
and only those who listen will

Find the powerful embrace of losing it all
for goodness’ sake.

Do Good

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.” Isaiah 1:17

I usually have music playing in the background during my time in the office. Most often I listen to contemporary Christian music or instrumental hymns. Occasionally, just for a change of pace, I’ll put on some jazz, classic rock or blues. But most often it is Contemporary Christian.

The Lord is Righteous

The Lord is Righteous

(“For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds. The upright will see His face.” Psalm 11:7)

“Righteousness” is not a word we use very often in everyday language. Even as followers of Jesus we may have a vague notion of righteousness. We know it has something to do with being good, and being fair. Because it is heard more often in religious conversation than informal talk, it can take on an other-wordly sense, and we think little about what it means in 21^st century day to day life.

Why I Keep Following (When it Hurts so Bad)

“God’s kingdom isn’t just a lot of words. It is power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20

The question hangs at the end of so many sentences. Those less connected to faith in Christ might be more likely to verbalize it, but it is not far from the thoughts of many who have been at least “church folk” for many years. I know the question well, because it is the one I have wrestled with the last few years: “If Jesus does not, or cannot, relieve this constant suffering of headache pain you endure, why do you keep following Him?”

Seek Good

“Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so shall the Lord, the God of hosts, be with you, as you say.” Amos 5:14

It seems like the simplest thing. To stop and consider the question, “What would make a better world?” Wouldn’t we all answer with something like, “People doing the right thing in every circumstance, as much as is possible.” I know that people may disagree over what may be the “right” thing in some circumstances, but those differences don’t seem to be the chief source of our world’s ills.