uphill and gray...

Looming
Holy week
emotion
gets
tangled up in
real life
issues
of the moment.

Just today
I preached:

When we get caught up
in insignificant issues of life
we miss what
God is doing
right before our eyes.

I'll go ahead and confess...
sermons aren't just for those
people sitting in the pews.
Sermons are lessons for
the preacher as well.

Tonight
I wrestle with
the very words I
preached just hours ago.

What are the
insignificant life issues that
get in my way of
sensing what God is doing
right before my eyes?

Are large tax bills,
hurting friends,
children searching for their way,
unknown futures...
insignificant?

Should I worry
about these things?
And if I do worry about
these things
am I
able
to hold on
to
hope,
assurance?

I worry...
but I am quick
to realize
there are
always other people
with bigger worries...
more urgent issues.

It all seems
uphill
and gray
some days.

Yet...
I am left
pondering the words
that spilled out of
my very mouth
just hours ago.

In the middle of a
boatload of worries
I must focus
my heart,
ears,
eyes,
on what is
around
the corner,
just over the hill.

This is the way of
Holy Week
emotion.
Fear
Sadness
Anger
Hopelessness
Grief
Death
seem to have a hold
today.

But tomorrow
brings
something
new.

Lord,
give me
patience
and strength
to hear
the very words
you pulled out
of my own
mouth
just hours ago.