What tender sparks of warmth
Can I remember?
You canned in the summer.
You baked in December.
We built fires in the stove.
When snow fell, you drank tea hot
And read to us from ancient books
Like the leather bound Curiosity Shop.
Your affection burned like a finished fuse,
And your expectation echoed a bottomless abyss
I learned to thank you for what little I could do,
And to apologize for the myriad of ways I’m remiss.
You became the opposite of God to me:
A gnashing mouth set to chew,
But surely there was tenderness once,
And would I know Him if not for you?
I sit here cut in two as they cut into you,
And here I cannot sleep.
My grief picks up a painted brush
But the sorrow makes me weep.
And shall I drive the many miles
To stand beside your pestle tongue,
Can any gestures now we make
Unring what we have rung

and rung…

and rung…

And if that bell tolls for thee,

Is this the way our story runs?

To be ever incomplete, but forever done?

Dear Father,
I pray for Your church

Protect her purity and peace.
Where there is sin,
Bring confession and repentance.
Where there is virtue,
Protect against pride.
Where there is plenty,
Inspire generosity.
Where there is want,
Bring abundance.
Where there is discontent,
Grow gratitude.
Where there are victories,
Sow humility.
Where there is humility,
Imbue favor.
Where there is illness,
Make well.
Where there is health,
Grant vitality.
Where there is vitality,
Grant ministry.
Where there is ministry,
Grant mobility.
Where there is joy,
Weave fellowship.
Where there is despair,
Weave fellowship.
Where hope is flickering,
Compose beauty.
Where there is exhaustion,
Grant solitude and rest.
Where there is struggle,
Work restoration.
Where there is dissension,
Call forth honesty and forgiveness.
Where there is confusion,
Illuminate with the Gospel.
Where there are itching ears,
Admonish.
Where there is selfish wandering,
Instruct wisdom.
Where there is wisdom,
Dress the sorrows.
Where there is vulnerability,
Defend.
Where there are wolves,
Break their fangs.
Where there are enemies,
Transform them.
Where there are powers and principalities,
Reign supreme.
Where there is suffering,
Walk among us.
Where there is fear,
Or any other hindrance,
Sum up all things in Your unbreakable love.

And keep us awake and alert,
Until You come back for us all.

Amen.

The air is so cold
down here
It makes introductions
the whole way down
in struggling breaths
I feel every part
exposed from under
the handkerchief blanket
I brought for the dog
And my soul is warmed
By the love I’ve been shown,
By the beds I’ve been offered
Sitting empty,
Yet filling my affection
and encouragement.
The floor is cold and hard,
But not the world
God is rewriting.

There’s some illness in the core of me
shivering throughout
and I know I must go in to see
what the trouble is about
but I am taking a moment to rest
at peace within the pain
My wounds are tenderly dressed
by the sweetest of refrains

The God of Grace, of Peace, of Love
Evermore the same,
Sings comfort to me by name.

Curled up once, under
Fury and fist
All the gnashing and gnawing,
The tainted and twisted
I felt You with me,
And I wept
Sorrow for the loss;
Gratitude You kept
My tiny soul in Your graces.

Curled up again, under
Physical pain
A familiar barrage
But You remain
And I weep
Gratitude for our years;
Joy that You keep
All things in Your hand

And You have planted me
In faithfulness,

In Your enduring faithfulness.