Unsettled Scores

Unsettled Scores

(“But no weapon will be able to hurt you; you will have an answer for all who accuse you. I will defend my servants and give them victory.”)

("The Lord has spoken." Isaiah 54:17)

The fury arose from mudpuddle words; the heart froze and fist closed
around another granite reason to put someone in their place, to lay them
in the dirt, to equalize and measure out the lies and twisted words upon
the scales of justice.

But rage and roundhouse do not deal out judgment charily; as if
measuring ingredients for cakes and pies. The laboratory of vengeance
is smeared with flour, caked with butter, and blood flows invisibly from
sink to counter to floor to the

Next encounter to settle scores the have no sudden death playoff.

Where did it begin, this singeing we call equality? Where does it stop,
the expanding cycle, the stingy air that suffocates us all.

Why do I fret, the skies are full of angel shields. Why does worry
upend the smile upon the offer of walks with Jesus from morning’s
warble until
slumber’s placeholder for the dawn?

I am Your servant; You are my Father. I am no further from home
when the crude throats accuse or when the smooth lips whisper.
You speak softer, and as truth is truth, more often, then the
repeats and rewinds of people who have run out of new words;
they spit old, worn out words and dare me to learn the same vocabulary,
and send them back doubly swift and tear the rift so much wider.

Let the fury sink below the arrow’s target; leave measurements to
someone with better sight. Open the fists numbed by now;
drop the stones to the ground from which they’ve grown,
and learn the Words or keep the Silence; hear the Harm
caused by Violence, and leave the battles behind.

Stronger than She Feels

Stronger than She Feels
(for my daughter Sarah)

(“Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Don’t tremble with fear.     I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories.” Isaiah 41:10)

Surely the way opens for you like
the drapes framing the first light of sun for you;
surely the heart you possess
has been given to Him who knows you best.

You fly above and see the sorrow below,
you walk beside the youngest up the steeps of light,
you stay with them to celebrate the plateau upon
the most sun-rich day.

They are dancers in your eyes, only years alive and
so full of daddy questions and mommy mottos,
and you sweep them up, one or dozens,
in one swoop of your arms (the once tiny arms I
watched in ballerina poses). They are your
bouquets, roses and daffodils and countless
dandelions
(what would a children’s garden be without the
butter-yellow weed we blow to across the sky with
wishes sent and seeds to grow in the neighbor’s backyard).

Your feet have always danced, and they will be planted
tomorrow; though your questions outweigh your confidence,
the Destiny, the open-book story with the pop-up pictures
is just beginning its out-loud read.

Every giggle, every baby’s babble; each skydive from the clouds,
each studied arrival at a brand new address; all attest
the beauty, the brave, the spiritual, the grace of a woman
whose God is making her

Stronger than she feels.

Divine Protection

But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.” Numbers 22:12

In our post-modern society, we are not in the habit of placing curses on people. Although, come to think of it, with the wide-open view of life that characterizes post-modernism, perhaps some are tinkering with the idea. One never knows. But in our usual 21^st century life, we give little concern whether someone has been busy casting curses on our life.

Staying on Track

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

Who do you run to…when the perfect job you have had for a decade is no longer available because downsizing. Who do you go to first…when faced with a sudden urgent emergency? What do you do…when you wake in the middle of the night and sleep eludes you, your mind racing a dozen tracks at once?

As For God...

“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30

A friend stopped by the church today to work on some remodeling we are doing in the fellowship hall. He needed to access the crawlspace under our building and was looking for the key. A few days earlier he stopped by, looking for the key to the storage shed as well. It was not in our key “box” where we keep them as neat and labeled as possible. I called out to him, “Rodney, that key is on my desk.”

My Hiding Place

My Hiding Place

(“You are my hiding-place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7)

Did you have a hiding place, somewhere no one knew about but you, when you were a young child? When I was in trouble, or when I was just fed up with the stress and strain of childhood, I usually wanted to run and hide. My place was in our garage.

Loving Protection

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed the prophets and have stoned the messengers who were sent to you. I have often wanted to gather your people, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you wouldn’t let me.” Luke 13:34

Was there ever a more poignant cry? Jesus love for the city of Jerusalem is transparent, from the twice repeated name, to the expressed desire to protect them as a mother hen does her chicks. Jesus’ affection for Jerusalem is all the more moving, considering He acknowledges up front that they have killed the prophets and messengers God had sent them.

Calyxes

Calyxes

The rain batters between shutter bursts of sunshine,
the buds bow their heads in reverence, protection.
While puddles fill, mud clods break, and
light punctuates the occasional hiatus,
the sprouts and not yet blooms are covered, protected;
Calyxes keeping delicacy for summer to observe.