Called to Bear Fruit

Since I was small, just tasting your Word, I’ve longed to be like Joseph, whose blessing prophesied rampant fruitfulness. Let me be a fruitful vine! Let my roots drink deep waters so my shoots stretch vibrantly up and over the walls, fruit falling freely. I desperately needyour streams of living waterdrenched with plant foodto fillContinue reading “Called to Bear Fruit”

Be One

You prayed your heart that last night, surrounded by eleven men who listened, astonished, and took note. And after you left (having suffered and risen) John remembered to write it down. For me. For us. For more to come.We need to know what yearningyou expressed for health and harmony:that we be one.And it’s the hardestContinue reading “Be One”

For the Joy Set Before Him

He knew where he was going when he rode into the City of Peace that received him with such welcome: shouts of joy based on false expectations,praise that would dissolve to bitternesswhen his peace was not what they’d hoped for.He knew that they would turn on him,following their leaders, men jealousof his power and risingContinue reading “For the Joy Set Before Him”

Craving Joy

When sorrow sits heavy on my soul I want to remember to go deep, stretch down to my foundations, touch the joy that lies there, waiting, holding on. It’s easy to forget, to wallow in the mud that seems pervasive, heavy, dark. But my Mentor has been nourishing my roots, plunging them yet furtherinto theContinue reading “Craving Joy”

Poured Out

I pour out my heart before you and there it lies, a puddle in your golden bowl: scent of sorrow, undertone of angst. You swirl the mixture deftlyand I see the colors whirlto form a spiral carousel:black of blindness, counterpoint of pearlwith an interplay of scarlet(all the dreams I’ve hadnow seasoned and remadeinto a fragrantContinue reading “Poured Out”

Savoring the Moment

Time tumbles forward, water over the cliff, and my life raft is all too quickly swept downstream. January hurtles past,April, May, August . . .I cling to the edgesand try not to swallow days whole, untasted.What is life worthif not lived with purpose?What if I staytuned to winter freezewhen the sun is out?I say noContinue reading “Savoring the Moment”

Pruned by the Wind

Leafless branches litter the wet earth in the aftermath of the storm. It came suddenly out of the north with a powerful wind that whipped through the trees and cleaned them out. Cobwebs are gone.The dead weight of lifeless woodwas lifted away and the tree is free,stretching up toward sky and sun.Spirit-wind, breath of God,sometimesContinue reading “Pruned by the Wind”

Cross

cross-eyed I had no clear vision life was a cross I had to carry and I was cross at the tangled criss-cross web of weariness and crass emptiness (clouded crock) case-hardened then cross my heart it came across brand new old and rugged time-testedChrist’s cross his cross purposescrossed over from heavento clean and fill metoreContinue reading “Cross”

Call for Urgent Care

Your body, Lord, needs urgent care! Right hand fights against its own left hand. Ears hear different music, east and west. Eyes are bloodshot, crossed and blurred, seeing only what each wants to see. Lungs breathe in polluted air whose fumes push out the Spirit. Legs crossed, the veins bulge, blocked;feet stay firmly rooted, passionContinue reading “Call for Urgent Care”

Unnamed but Chosen

She lived in a land of darkness oppressed by cruel foreigners. She carried deep personal shame: “barren” was her common name. No hope for a descendant! No sign she could conceive! Her husband had not spurned her,his name must have consoled her:“place of rest: Manoah.” So she was quick to tell himthat a God-sent messengerhadContinue reading “Unnamed but Chosen”