Welcome

Waiting long enough to hear.

Every day

We decide

Who and what

We will welcome

Into our hearts,

What and who we will allow

In.

Sometimes it takes

Longer than a day.

Sometimes

It takes one particular word

We could never

Have predicted,

A word we won’t know

Until it is said

Out loud,

And we stay in one place

Long enough

To hear it.

Every day we decide

And then

We decide again.

Tend the sick, Lord Christ

Number five in the bedtime prayer reflections.

So much to do at night

While others sleep.

Our God is a God

Who doesn’t sleep

Ever.

Our God doesn’t close His eyes,

Close Her ears.

Our God is always attentive,

Always present,

With a cool washcloth,

A hand to hold,

A breeze to soothe

A fevered brow,

A quiet word that morning

Will come

A whispered word

That all looks better

In the light of day.

Jerky

I learned new language when I spent time with evangelical friends and colleagues.  A Word was spoken in capital letters.  It is way more important than mere advice.  A Word is something which comes from deeper places and simply begs to be chewed upon.

May I have a Word?

She asked

At the end of the session.

I knew advice

Was not what she asked for

Rather

Like the beef jerky

My daughter and I got

Our beloved for Christmas:

Six months of jerky

One shipment at a time.

May I have a Word?

She asked.

She meant for it

To be chewed upon

Prayed with

Thought through

Perhaps placed

On the refrigerator

For contemplation every time

The door was opened.