despair – All the Wonders

We Have No Words

We have no words
To express the depths of our grief,
Our sorrow, our outrage, our despair.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

For parents and grandparents,
Aunts, uncles, siblings, and friends
Who have lost someone
They knew and loved.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

For first responders
And all those who witness violence firsthand.
For survivors and their loved ones.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

For all held captive by fear,
And those imprisoned by wounds,
Minds twisted by mental illness and rage.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

For the leaders of our country and our world,
Who seem powerless to stop the violence
That fills our news feeds,
Our schools, churches, grocery stores …
The public places that used to feel safe.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy One, we stand before you in grief,
In sorrow, in outrage, in despair,
And we cry out …

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Love Is Our Hope

There is this part of me
That, if it were not
For the singing of the Wood Thrush,
Would feel so hopeless.

There is this part of me
That, if it were not
For the beauty of the yellow butterfly,
Would find no joy.

There is this part of me
That, if it were not for
The wild abandon of a puppy’s play,
Would sink deep into despair.

In this long, hard season
Of sickness
Of death
Of isolation
Of injustice and fear …
Where is our hope?
Where is our joy, our purpose, our anchor?

Our hope comes from each other.
Though we are apart,
We are woven together in the fabric of love.

Our hope comes from within,
From the heart of courage
That beats inside each living being.
From the essence of the Holy One, Knit into our spirits
Before we were imagined.

Our hope comes from the One
Who said that nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing in all creation
Can separate us from Love.

Love.
Love is our joy,
Our purpose,
Our anchor.

Love.
Love is our hope.

All Shall Be Well

When you wake up in a fog,
The clouds hiding the sun,
Hiding the hope and the confidence
You used to have.

When the place you are standing
Feels like it tilts at random moments
And you risk sliding into the abyss.

When you are floating
In a pool of wet darkness,
Your foot tethered to a boulder
That pulls you under.

May the bright sun of the universe
Cut through the clouds
And cover you in warmth and light.

May the healer of the heavens and the earth
Wrap you in safety and confidence,
Stand firm beneath your feet,
Hold you up when you feel you are sinking.

May the creator of hope
Tap you on the shoulder
And whisper,
“I’m right here.
And all shall be well.

“You are not alone.
And all shall be well.

“You are mine.
And all shall be well.”

How Can We

How can we
Withstand
The chaos

The unravelling of
Sanity
Values
Order

Some days it feels that
We are so broken
We can never be healed

And still
In this violent
Confusing
Aching world

You send your Spirit
Tongues of flame
To remind us

That however alone
Distressed
Abandoned
We may feel
You are with us

Hold on to Hope

I saw the moon setting
As I drove to work
Early this morning.

It hung over the horizon,
Round and orange,
Its beauty suspended
Over the blackness of trees
The shadows of houses.

The full moon
Reminds me that life goes on
Even in the midst
Of chaos, of grief,
Of confusion or hopelessness.

Hold on to hope, to beauty,
To love, to the assurance
That no matter what we face,
God is there beside us, saying,
“You are my beloved.”

Find more of my blessings in my book Christ Beside Me, Christ Before Me: Celtic Blessings. Subscribe to my video channel at YouTube.