Joyful Ruins

Because there is no end to suffering on this earth,

how do we manage?

How do we take blow after blow

without falling bloodied to the floor?

What do we say

to tragedy after tragedy?

How do we take our steps

each day

without knowing where they will land?

How do we enter into the land of contentment

acceptance,

or do we?

Is it a choice between pain or hope?

Or is peace on this earth a meeting of the two?

And how do they meet?

Do they have to battle it out first?

Fighting to see which wins our heart and mind

only to come to a tie?

Or are they working together

and take turns

tapping out when one has had too much time

in the ring?

And how did You do it Jesus?

How did You live as God and man

hope and pain perfectly intermingled?

You became living hope

AND

You suffered more than any human.

Does suffering lead to hope

in an endless cycle?

Or is it just a small cry of hope

in the midst of suffering?

And yet Your hope

was not a small cry

but a booming clash

of resurrecting life

and conquering the grave

conquereing death!

Oh, I don’t know

how to hold this all

Your answering some

of our prayers

and saying “no”

to others

Your silence

and Your comfort

Your breakthrough

and Your waiting

Your character and ways

are far too above

this finite brain

I’m not satisfied

with this tension

And maybe I am not

meant to be

because

the tension that I am

dissatisfied with

moves me to cry with others

to reach out

to pray

to plead

to listen and hug

and care more than ever

It should not have to be this way

Suffering should not have to be the means

to deeper love

An yet Your suffering

was the means to the greatest love

I’ll hold onto You

that is all I can do

hold onto the One who went to the grave

and came back out alive and new

You hold the tension

You gave us that tension

Without You, there is only pain

With You, hope enters in

and the tension is there

Thank You for the tension

I would rather choose

to live with the tension of

pain and hope

than live with the resolve of pain alone

You have given hope