pickle grace

he's 5 years old
&
way
too young to lose
his daddy.

where is Your grace
in this,
Lord?

will daddy still need to get
shots?
can i hug his ashes?
can i kiss his ashes?
his questions each & all...

mom
trying to answer
each
with truth
that crushes her heart
even as her words
break into the air.

satisfied
in some 5 year-old way
he asks,

"can i have some more pickles?"

it seems, Lord,
that Your grace is in
the pickles.

shining grace

she said
she saw a light
as her husband-friend
was dying.

our dear friend was
gifted
by You, Lord,
with a sight she sorely
needed.

then when her husband-friend
left
her to come to You...
she said
she saw him.
whole.
standing.
holding someone's hand.
she did not know
whose hand
it was.

was it Yours,
Lord?

broken grace #4 (2 Cor. 12)

is your grace
broken,
Lord?

or just invisible
most of the time?

tho' we seldom see
You...
we
have never wept
alone...
never
have we cleaned up
a pain-wracked loved one
all
by ourselves...
tho' it often seems that way.

Your hands
cover our own
touching
everything we touch.

You taste
each
one of our tears.

this is grace,
i think.

true grace.

broken grace #3 (2 Cor. 12)

is Your grace
broken,
Lord?

is it unable
to be present in the face
of great suffering?
a suffering that
steals
our dignity?

where are You,
Lord,
in those dark nights?

when we survive
loss,
our own pain
&
that of our loved ones...
is our survival
true grace?
or not?

did we survive?
well, yes...
but
is THIS what grace is?
true grace?

tho' it be
dark...
it is a true grace
to live,
i think.

even in grief.

even in the dark.

broken grace #2 (2 Cor. 12)

is Your grace
broken,
Lord?

watching
helplessly
we wonder about You,
Lord...
about Your grace
&
our so-sick friend.

where is grace?
where are You?

then
we understand exactly
how Your grace
came
here today.

in us.

why us, Lord?
why us?

broken grace #1 (2 Cor. 12)

is Your grace
broken,
Lord?

i see my friend
dying...
his wife kissing
his head...
telling
him she loves him.

i think
i see Your grace
there
even though i am not
so much comfortable
with its
shape.

but there You are
sharing
in our misery.

a well-loved daughter (next version)

charity, the faithful
girl
who did not quit
fighting
through the deep
dark
of despair
to find Jesus already
looking
for her.

faithfulness' tutor is
dark trouble
leading to
joy.

only the truly faithful
can hold onto joy
for long.
at all.

a well-loved daughter

sarah, the brave
girl
who raised her
daughters
to be brave.

bravery's tutor is
conflict
leading to peace.

only the brave
can maintain
real peace
for long.
at all.

inconvenient Jesus #1 (john 1)

Jesus
is never convenient.

while He is intimately
close...
He takes away
our peace
to give us
His.