Arm's Length

We start out walking
Side by side
Talking about life
Sharing our theories
About blessings and pain
Theories
Not yet realities
So made safe
By the distance

Then true pain strikes

Interrupts our walk
And as one falls down
The arm of the other
Extends
Not to offer help
But to keep the other
Really the pain of the other
At arms length

The voice at arm’s end

Offers many opinions
About why pain is happening
About how it should be received

Offers many opinions

And very little comfort

And on the very day

That the pain stops
(And there is a chance it might not)
The voice at the end of the arm
Is the first to say
See how it worked for good
See how God cares for his own
See how weak was your faith
 
Only with pain
Safely over
Does the extended arm lower
And the person attached
Become eager again
To move closer
Resuming the conversation
Right where it was
Before pain cut it off  
Ignoring all
That has happened since

Confusion then

That with pain ended
It is the arm
Of the one
No longer in pain
That extends
Intentionally
Creates distance
And keeps anyone
Who would continue on
As if nothing has changed
At arms length

Show Up

When all
That happened
Happened

Some

Showed up
And showed
Unconditional
Love

Some

Showed up
And stayed
Only as long
As I kept
My grief
Pretty

Some

Showed up
Took one look
At my shattered present
And hopeless future
And left

Some

Just didn't
Show up

It is hard

To show up
Sometimes

And when you do

Show up
And see pain
It’s hard to stay

It’s hard

To show up
And let
Things be
What they are

Hard

To show up
And show love
In the presence of pain
That you can’t explain
Or alleviate
Or fix

Hard to show up

At all

But especially hard

To show up well
And offer comfort
In ways that matter

Pitch In

Three weeks
And so much rain
Since the lawn
Was last mowed
How does grass grow so fast
And has it always
I’ve never paid attention

Harder now to cut

Than if I’d just kept it up
Requiring a few passes
To make it presentable
Overwhelming

Me with the lawnmower

Frustrated with my lack of ease
Him with the weed whacker
Frustrated with his lack of vision
Trying

Then a neighbor

There with his lawn mower
“I thought I’d pitch in”
Beautiful words

Now two lawnmowers

One weed whacker
Getting it done

Two lawnmowers

And he took the hill

Two lawnmowers

And as I finished the front
He cleared a path out back
A path I rarely give attention to
A luxury

And as I mow

I replay the words
I thought I’d pitch in
Over and over
And think yes

That is exactly what helps

Not someone
To do it all
Just someone
To pitch in
Come alongside
Take the hill now and then

Let me know

I’m not alone
Let me know that
Hills can be conquered

Something About

When you feel strong
You reach out
When you reach out
You grow stronger

When you feel weak

You shrink
When you shrink
You grow weaker

But there is something about

Reaching out

When you feel weak
Grabbing strength
When you are shrunk

Something about

Mixing up
The expected order of things
That makes me
Feel alive

Next To Nothing

What can the broken
Offer the broken

Can’t offer

Wholeness
A clear path out of pain
Anesthesia

Can offer

Next to nothing
Except company
A witness to the journey

Like a group

Of lost hikers
Wandering through
The cold dark scary woods
With not enough food
No directions home
Able to offer each other
Next to nothing
Only confirmation
That yes it is cold
And dark
And scary
And the hunger is real

Next to nothing

An offering
That might not mean much
To the unbroken

Next to nothing

An offering
That might just mean everything
To the broken

Through People

Does God only work through people
Does He only move people to move
And not Himself move to intervene
Is that how this works

God as “hands off” this world

Standing back from disasters
Both personal and global
But always there waiting to give instruction
To people open to receiving
And acting on it

Should there just be prayers

That God moves people
Because when they don’t move
Life is more lonely
Burdens more heavy
Everyone suffers more

Is all we really have

Each other
And the best we can do is
Hope those in our lives
Are those who listen and act

Is it that

There are just not enough
Listeners and actors

Too many people learning about God

Not enough people listening to God
Too many studying the manual
Not enough doing the work

Am I

One of
Those people

Listening

There are not many
Who listen
With the primary
Intention
Of hearing

Open

Risking influence

Willing to

Consider
Entertain
Really hear
Different
Maybe misguided
Thoughts, ideas, views

Listening

First
Before
Guiding
Advising
Redirecting

So rare

And beautiful
A gift