We worry and
we fret,
it's just something
we do.
We open the door
to this poison -
odorless and colorless,
it creeps across
thresholds
and into our very blood.
Doing battle
means
a bit of boot camp:
disciplined action
and mental grit
while sending sighing
prayers heavenward.
Grab hold of a
grounding stone
and breathe -
in, then out.
Body, soul and spirit
function together,
gears mesh or clog
as each is oiled
or filled with gunk.
Find an ear to speak into -
a trusted soul to hear.
Into the worry pools
and eddies,
God's presence exists.
Learn to see Him
in the dark;
reach out your fumbling,
stumbling hand
to find His there.
Though He may not seem
to speak,
He is there.
And that "there" is more solid
and actual
than the storm that rages
around and through you.
Let the God of comfort
hold you
as you tremble.
Let the Father
of compassion
feel your anguish,
take it,
mold it
and
continue the good work
He began.
Trust His faithfulness
to see you through.
We are weak
yet He does not flee.
We lack trust
yet He remains faithful.
We worry.
We fret.
It's who we are.
He cares.
He shows up.
It's who He is.
Gadgets galore
chitter and glitter,
bling, bling -
give me more!
Double-edged swords:
potential soul suckers
and awesome achievements
each and all.
Designed to meet needs
we never knew we had
until
we can't exist
without them.
Juggling chainsaws
might be safer
than navigating
smart phones today.
Dynamite in your pocket -
handle with care.
Sacred minutes are
limited things -
golden coins
to spend
or waste.
Oh, the treasure chest
a day is!
This gift
is ours to invest
or ingest
but are we free
to choose
or pulled by strings
tied on to gadgets
by merchandisers
devoted to devouring
our golden minutes
one by precious
one.
Beware, beware -
all that glitters
and chitters
and pulls and pulls
is not gold,
and ultimately
can never satisfy
since its very purpose
is to produce
craving
and therefore
chains.
Handle
with care,
inherent danger
is everywhere.
What an astonishing world
You have made!
And into the midst of
this masterpiece,
You crowned us
as almost angels
to serve
the multitudinous
life forms
that crawl and crab,
stalk and soar;
herbage that blossoms
with bud and thorn,
bristle and leaf;
surfaces diverse with
granite and glacier,
sand and seas,
mud and marsh.
Let me not forget
to wonder
at fern fronds.
In the eyes
and on the lips
of babes
dance the mysteries
of myriad
universes;
skies star-freckled
or cloud-castled
invite inquiry
and inspire imagination.
Look and see.
Listen and hear.
Pause and ponder.
Clean the windows
of your soul -
scrub away the
clouds of cynicism;
learn to laugh with
delight again
at the hard k's in
the word "skunk";
tremble with anticipation
at a raindrop's slow
path down the window pane -
gaze out at
the world in wonder
and
worship.
What an astonishing world
You have made!
Unbelievable shame -
audacious claims -
stupendous stories -
swallowed and
banked on
by millions!
Scandalous...
yet true.
A Jewish family
of the house of David -
lineage intact.
A virgin teen
encountering
an actual angel
with astounding news.
Her curious mind alert
in spite of quaking knees,
she blurts the obvious: "how?"
and receives
a mystery for answer.
Instead of insisting
on diagrams and proofs,
she bows her head
accepting
the mysterious scandal;
so much teeters
upon her answer.
Why her?
Why her people?
An unexpected choice
from an
unpredictable God
who will not be boxed in.
God is a lover
of irony -
choosing to be born
into a Jewish
peasant family
at a time when Romans
held pomp and power
and Jews were
merely dust between their toes.
But it's not as though
he didn't warn us
using an entire Testament
to allude and foreshadow
his plan.
From a woman (promised
from day one),
will come the seed
that will rescue us all
from the bite of the
Serpent.
One man
from a particular people,
calls together
all people.
Instead of "the Other"
defining the group
we are part of,
it only illuminates
another lovely branch
of this multi-faceted
world he created.
We are his
before we are families,
ethnicities and
nations.
Scandalous...but true.
A Jewish girl at prayer
electrified history
in a particular place
at a specific time.
Time.
A gift we step into
to encounter God.
Drink from the chalice
of sacred moments;
let none slip by
uncaressed.
Chronos clocks tick
draining life,
boxing time.
Kairos time
is divine,
tingling air, alive
with possibility.
In Bethlehem
chronos and kairos
met and danced.
We can learn
the steps
through practice:
daily sabbath moments,
weekly hours
and yearly times
of reflection.
One step
at a time.
Some will feel clumsy,
the minutes chunky and loud,
but practice
can lead us
into fluid movement,
a dance
with Time
where we accept the gift
and let it twirl us
into His arms.
Contentment
curls like a purring cat,
oblivious
to circumstance.
The cat who walks alone,
content with itself
and its Shadow -
also loves a
good chin-rub
and a warm body
to curl around.
So thank you.
Christ is enough for me
but oh,
how thankful I am
that you walk
beside me
as well.
Mechanized living -
efficient and productive -
assembly line formation:
the way of the world.
Rather...shadow me,
says Paul.
Imitate my movements,
evaluate my choices,
and do likewise.
Press in to my shape;
see my heart
and mold yourself around me.
**********************
Who is imprinting me?
And what will the results be?
What glaring fault lines
will trip them up?
This broken being is all I have,
limping along a darkened path...
do I dare to lead the blind?
Before I can be impress-able,
I must press in to God,
softened and moldable,
chastened and raw,
till I am formed anew
by His character
and care.
