I won’t pretend like it’s been an easy week. In fact, the more I tried to reflect on peace each day, the further I felt from it. Isn’t that how it goes sometimes? Thankfully, even amid the chaos I know that there can be something more lasting. After all, peace isn’t the absence of conflict, but the presence of God in the midst of it.
This is the second installment in my series of Advent poetry, Liminal Space. Here is the link to the first week, Hope.
Present | Day 8
Even when the noise around me won’t fade
You are there
Keeping, holding, seeking, saving me
Even when the colors blur by too fast to see
You are there
Picking me out of a sea of other faces
Even when the clamor of evil staggers me
You are there
Supporting me and letting me lean
On One much stronger than I
Psalm 46:10 | Day 9
Come fill me like the sun in the morning
Or birdsong at evening’s call
Let me rest in Your presence
And know what it means
To truly be still before my Maker
For my soul is busy
And constantly striving
To forge its own way through life
Let me hear instead
The still small voice
That beckons me to know
And be still
Busy | Day 10
It may seem like chaos abounds
When the whirlwind begins
Of noise and news
Of decorations and gifts
Of needs and wants
And there’s so many places
To be spread thin
That it’s easy to forget the reason
We celebrate
It’s not for the perfect pictures
Or the perfect gifts
But the perfect peace
You made possible by Your coming
Nightlife | Day 11
All glamor and glitz is stripped away
Under cover of darkness
When the makeup comes off
And the clothes are replaced
By well-worn, familiar shells
And the only ones around
To ask any questions
Are the owls and crickets
Is the most vulnerable time
Because when the image I’ve curated
Is left on the floor
With yesterday’s socks
I’m stuck holding who I really am
At the feet of my Savior
Sourdough | Day 12
It’s like the slow rise of bread
Which is proofed then baked in the morning
All building underneath the smooth shell
Undetectable,
Except to those who saw before
Where chaos abounds
There strife will follow
Trials and tribulations
But like the dough
That must over time
Rise up
So will a life
Be made stronger
By coming through the fire
Martyr’s Song | Day 13
You move me
Like music carefully crafted
To express the heart’s deepest needs
Like the sight of dawn breaking
After the shadows of night
Finally begin to recede
Like a baby’s cry
Calling out in helpless trust
That a warm embrace will surround it
Like the faithful ones
Facing down their night
With the boldness that only belief
Can produce
You are worthy
You are worthy
Of all the praise
And my devotion feels too sparse
To give a king
You are holy
You are holy
Desert in Bloom | Day 14
There was no snow in Bethlehem
At least, that’s how I imagine
Because in the desert it’s a different kind
Of Christmas
Where other places see death and dormancy
Here, there is life
When the winter rains arrive
The ground gives forth its blessing
And births the beauty
Of new growth
On one of the most important nights
This world has ever known
It may have been summer anyway
With no hint of snow
And here, in my soul
The soil is ripe
And waiting for renewal