Part of Me

There is something about a hollowed stem

wilted and brittle, that reminds me of dry bones

that reminds me that I always thirst

I move and sway to the rhythms around me,

always wanting

It reminds me

How seasons come and go

I take their lead, always tearing down,

then building back up

Even when I come to the end, there is another beginning

death rattles can become songs

Crops that we lay to rest will feed us all winter

The seed that falls to the ground

spawns a harvest

As I go indoors, hiding beneath months of darkness

There is something about death that reminds me of life

There is part of me buried and gone, and part of me

that has a vein good for water, that will keep me alive,

has breath and beats feverishly even after I am

sapped of all energy, weary and emptied out

The cold bitter winds blow back and forth

over the earth

Rains will pour and tamp it down

Yet it is resilient

Something is always forming, stirring

even in the quiet, fallow months

Even wasteland is good for something

These are the mysteries of God

Those who mourn will be comforted

The meek will inherit the earth

barren will bear life

upside down, inside out

Hope in the unexpected

No place is too far

No hell is too deep

No spirit too broken

Awaken me from sleepy dreams, into

the way you are cultivating the earth

Shift my vision to the ground

where you reach into something

that seems like nothing

and place a tiny seed inside

Let old visions die and be torn down

Let new visions soar into view

Breathe life back into these weary limbs

come thou fount

come thou fount

come thou fount, I am yours

note: I am always in awe of how nature points to God. I shouldn't be.

After all, he created it. God can be found and seen working, in the

midst of darkness, in the midst of disorder. We just have to zoom out

and span the larger picture on the canvas to see what he is doing. He is

order. He is redemption. He is healing, and he is life. May we not forget.