Poem Take Three

The unmistakable laughter filled the room,
Erupting from her petite frame.
It was as if the laugh would have needed to start in her pinkie toe and gather stream
For something so big to come from someone not even five foot tall.

Only when you have looked the messiness and brokenness of life directly in the eye
Can you laugh that loud.
Only when you have held close to you the pain of the world and of another's life,
Can the holy chaos of joy spill forth from you.
Only when you realize the full truth of God with us, through us, in us
Does such a sweet sound spring forth.

When you have taken the leap of faith,
Fallen flat on your face,
Asked the hard questions of why,
And lived with the ambiguity,
Can the twinkle of your eye shine.

Not because life is suddenly perfect,
Not because the pain has finally bid you farewell.
Not because you see, understand, and grasp.

But precisely because you don't.
We do gaze into a smudged and smeared mirror, only catching a sliver of certainty.
We cannot speak of all knowledge, because even Google cannot solve the mysteries of life.
We cannot understand all mysteries, that is why we call it a mystery.
We cannot always be the hero/heroine in the drama of our life,
Because the world is more than a stage.

This beautiful, broken, sight-to-behold world that is still spinning will never be held in our grasp,
Because it is bigger
Bolder
More mysterious
Perplexing
Peculiar
Playful
And infused with the sacred of the ordinary
Than one time can solve.

Life is not a math problem
Or riddle
But a stream to step in, to be soaked by, and shout,
"Here I am, Lord."
And here God is with you.

Grace and peace ~~