words are my habit.
Oh God of commandments too clear to question
Commandments that usher us into your presence
If we listen
May the words of our mouths
And the meditations of our hearts*
Be transformed in your sight
Indicative of our eyes fixed on you
Our relationships led by you
Our lives surrendered to you
Oh God our rock
And our redeemer
Amen.
Written as a response to Matthew 15:1-20.
*Psalm 19:14
The writing gurus say not to write about the pain when it is fresh. By that they do not mean not to write about it at all, but not to share it just yet when your skin is still hot, when your brain is still hot. Don’t share it when you’re still on fire. I’ve […]
Every year our church had at least one evangelistic series, at least that’s what I recall. At least one. If not three. On some scale. And the best thing about them wasn’t that people were giving their lives to Jesus, although of course that’s a wonderful thing, but for me at age 7, the best thing about these evangelist series was the baptism at the end.
And I’m learning that to sit with grief (which is sometimes seemingly out of the reach of hope or any warm sentiments) is to honor our capacity to love. At some point the chest hurt eases but I’m not grabbing for that moment.
