Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Feeling small?
Hollow?
Inadequate?
…alone?
Tired of so much failure?
So many missteps and false starts?
Are you
deep inside
afraid you’re just not enough?
Perfect.
You are, you know.
You’re all those things.
So am I.
Which is great
because one of Jesus’ very first teachings
is that our poor, impoverished, spirits
are just the kind of space
God loves to fill.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
My know has taken a beating.
It’s a ship battered,
sails tattered,
creaking into harbour
hardly worth mending.
Relentless storms pushed it
miles off course.
I tossed all the cargo,
lost some sails completely
while others flap–riggings torn.
It’s been a storm.
Winds howling, drowning
out Your voice;
salt water in my eyes
spun around and lost.
So how do I know?
How do I know You are, at all?
More, how do I know You are good?
When you let the storm rage on?
How do I know?
I know by how wrong the storm feels,
how alien the ravaged ship.
I know by the yearning
for a day
where the sun shines
and the wind fills my sails
carries me across a sparkling sea.
Sometimes
in the dark storm
the only way I know You
is by how much I want you.
Lorrie Spinney 