this time of year.

i know what it’s like to
carry an unexpected child and to
pray for redemption’s sacred song.

i know what it’s like to
be given an impossible life and to
pray for the courage to be strong.

i know what it’s like to
sleep under the midnight sky and to
pray for shelter from the storm.

i know what it’s like to
wander through the desert night and to
pray for a light to lead you home.

this time of year, we
all draw near to
celebrate the atonement child,
but in our pursuits, have we
lost simple truths of
heaven and earth reconciled?

for he isn’t in the manger and
he isn’t on the cross,
he is eating with the stranger and
he’s walking with the lost.

he’s sitting with the broken and
he’s bandaging their wounds,
he’s unraveling the tangled heart,
he’s guarding the abused.
​
this time of year, may
our holiday cheer reach more than
just family and friends,
let there be light in the dark, and
peace in our hearts, and
compassion for every man.