Thanks for covering me when I asked You to

And covering me every other single moment too–

For shelt’ring my life long before I drew breath

In the span of Your time, in the shadow of Your hand.

And for how You will cover me until life is over.

Then, I’ll travel on, to Your arms, for ever after.

Lord ~

When You allow something that breaks my heart,

I want You to stop the pain:

The Providence You deemed fitting to be

Or my feeling-ability–

Or both. And a promise of never again

To assuage what’s hard.

But that’s not what would let Your glory shine through,

And that’s not what would let others know the real me.

And that’s not what would allow me to better know You.

And that’s not what would help to mend what’s been frayed.

So, show me how this heartbreak’s a gift.

Please help me trust You’ll bring Your best through it.

Robed in light, Majestic One,

You blind us with Your splendor

And teach us there is still a place

For awe at all Your grandeur.

So let us lie some moments more,

Full-prostrate in the golden,

And then, by grace, arise to kiss

Your hand which now lies open–

Your hand, which scarred, holds mercy

And clears our path to God: free.

You know my heart has been hard

As stone. But now it is heavy

As lead. And I can’t carry it on

My own. I need You to hold it

Instead. And perhaps, while You do–

Melt it. And purify what has been

Toxic. And replace all that weighed with

Silver. Same hue as before, but

Now clear. And so much precious-lighter.

My Father,

Thank You for the gift of words

To try to express what I mean,

The gift of Help

When those words fall short, and

The gift of silence

For times of thoughts too deep.

Amen.

Lord, I crave a lot of things–

From salty-sweet to sensual.

But when I sit awhile and think,

I see a theme run through them all:

–

They are not You.

And that’s my fault.

–

I need Your heart to guide my head;

I need Your good to fill me.

And when the false has drained away,

Hungry for you I will be.

Lord, I thank You for the sweetest

Pulse of home that I feel when

I see or hear a clear sign:

To know, in that moment, the stranger

Beside me is not really a stranger

At all, but is a brother or sister–

Or an angel–that I, for an instant,

Entertained. My blessing them was

Also my–humble–gift to You. Amen.

Great God who gives good

Abundantly–tonight help me

Think on how You have said

You will grant sleep to those

You love and replace the burden

Of all those who come, so weary.

–

The ebbs of the day, the week

Have crept back to the shore.

This is my mind, my heart:

Drawing close to the shelter of You,

Slipping forth a tired hand

To cling to each promise of Yours.

In the cries of a child, Lord, I hear what I need

To be mindful of, to reset my soul:

There is a place for sorrow and joy, dual simplicity

(The delighted scream and the mournful howl).

And so I am reminded today to speak to You freely,

To pour out all the sweet and bitter You already know.

All-seeing One, what’s it like to view

Everything, ever, all at once, like You do?

And when I’m impatient to understand now,

Isn’t that me wishing I could be You somehow?

But aren’t You the wisest when You don’t allow

Me to grasp all which I wished I knew?

For You know my limits and You love me so–

So I’ll trust Your boundaries which help my view grow.