Poems of Doubtful Hope

There once was a knight of great courage, Dashing, handsome, and true. He saved many a helpless fair maiden; Slaying monsters, protecting virtue.  One day he passed a great cavern Billowing smoke, ominous and dread.  He gathered his fortitude, preparing to charge, Then decided to sneak off instead.  "I'm brave, but what was I thinking?" He pondered as he rode on by.  "I've faced mighty foes, but a dragon? I'm afraid I'm just not that guy." Then all down the road he was haunted By what the dragon might do.  Pillaging, slaughtering, burning of fields, Whilst the finger points squarely at you.  So, he turned his horse back to the chasm, Charging gallantly into the fray.  But all that he found was a small cook fire Smoldering in the heat of the day. So, what is the lesson to be learned here? Sometimes dragons fill us with dread.  But, before you flee, take a second to see If maybe it's all in your heard.   

You picked a stutterer and a murderer To be the voice to lead a generation to freedom. You picked a runty young shepherd To be a mighty warrior king. You turned fishermen, tax collectors, and persecuters Into Apostles to spread your name to the ends of the earth.  You strengthen the weak, Embolden the timid,  Encourage the depressed,  Heal the broken.  You never do things the way we expect, But the Lord of all the earth will always do what's right.  No one is too far gone.  Anything can be redeemed.  No one's too broken to be made whole, No heart too dirty to be made clean.  With all of this in mind, reach inside my heart.  Clean away the muck and filth. Give me a new start.  May the scales fall from my eyes.  Fill me with your breath.  Lead me into bold new life. Cleanse me until all that's left Is someone you can use To bring about the things you need To work and do through me. 

She is the core of my heart, The one who drives me to try and be better, My muse, my Atlas who holds up the sky, My Artemis who shines like the moon at night. Her arms steady my soul, wrapped tight around me.  I can lift heavy things, but her? She's the strong one.  There's no better way to end my day than head on her heart, Listening to the reassuring rhythm of its beat.  Every now and then I'm stupid enough to forget.  Forget how incredibly lucky I am to be married to an angel, A radiant being who blesses me with her attention, Because sometimes I'm an idiot.  Lest I make the mistake of not reminding you, You are the best thing that ever happened To an idiot like me.  I love you fiercely, truly, deeply.  Love like this doesn't happen every day.  It may not burn like a raging fire Or look like much from the outside, But inside our love I find everything I need.  East to West, North to South,  You're the only one for me.  I could lo...

For you I would do 'most anything. I hope you know that it's true. You're the why to my questions, The how in my answers, The reason I do what I do. I love to hear you laugh, I hate to see you cry. You're the pearl of great cost Beautiful and beloved The Rose of Sharon Lily of the valley, More precious than anything you can buy. My heart, it beats for you. You're always on my mind. You're the love of my life, Ezer kenegedo, my wife. Love beyond any I'd hoped to find. Words fall short of the feelings I feel  It's borderline blasphemous, This exhilarating zeal, That resonates in my mind and my heart; Let's never ever be apart.

Why are you so lazy and always making mistakes? (Why do you hold yourself to an impossibly high standard?) You're disgusting, pathetic, and don't deserve love. (You're too hard on yourself, and people do love you.) You should be doing more to make yourself useful. (Your productivity doesn't measure your worth.) Why are you always pushing people away? (Why do you blame yourself for how you've been traumatized?) The world would be a better place if you were gone. (You'd never talk to anyone else this way. Why do it to yourself?) You're a hypocrite who fails to embody Christ. (The love of God can never be earned or lost.) You're a terrible, woefully inadequate minister. (God called you and tells you to rely on him.) You're wrong about your faith and going to Hell If God even exists at all beyond your imagination. (God loves the doubters, the stumblers, and the broken; you don't need to hide from The Lord.) You reject yourself so no one else can do i...

God said humans were created in his image, male and female. Does that image fade away when we love the "wrong" people? You call marriage a sacred institution,  But you support politicians with multiple divorces or proven infidelity.  You look into the face of your fellow human beings Refusing to see God reflected there,  Robbing your neighbors of their dignity for the sake of your piety.  But there are no whitewashed tombs in sight on the moral high ground.  God destroyed the city of Sodom.  The moral culpability of the Sodomites Has been so inexorably tied to same sex intercourse The terms are literally synonymous.  Ironically, the real sin of Sodom was a lack of hospitality,  Threatening violence and shame against their fellow human beings: The very thing you do to the LGBTQ+ community In the name of a God whose heart breaks over our hate masquerading as mercy.  You call them abominations,  Desperate to cast the first stone at your nei...

Swords into plowshares Pruning hooks into spears Mourning into dancing Laughter from our tears Dry bones into flesh Peace from raging storms Creation ex nihilo Our very shape and form Small meals into banquets New life out of death Hope from our despair Humanity out of breath All things and more you do As you make all things new