The Call

Friend –
     I don't get the tears.

I get the tears you shed –
     The tears of loss
          For death a mystery is,
               And pulls from us
                    Deep longings
                         Since our birth.

But not those tears –
     Those tears were full
          Of other things
                I thought you'd
                     Dropped
                          So long ago –

But maybe not –
     For there are tears
          Which lie in wait
                In me –

Unspoken tears –
     Tears felt to be inside
          Which bide their time
                Until I'm unprepared –

And then they come –
     Shed from those
          Deeper regions
               Of my
                     Inner
                         Self–

Shed now
     Though representing
          Something else
               I'd lost
                    But could not
                         Grieve –

So now they come –
     In torrent
          Far exceeding
               Grief at
                    Simple loss
                         Of one we love,
                              Who now
                                   Has gone
                                         Beyond.

Unspoken grief –
     And now,
          For some mysterious cause
              We find ourselves
                    Freed up to pour
                         It out –

Like showered tears –
     Unseen to outside eyes
          For streams of
               Cleansing water
                    Pouring down –
                         To us –

And known as well to Christ –
     For they’re His tears
          Tears shed for us
                In penetrating gaze
                     Of intercession.

For He was here –
     And knows
          Himself the deep
               Complexity
                    Which forms our tangled
                          Lives.

And holds our hearts
     In all their
          Broken,
               And now grieving,
                    Wretched state.

So no, my friend,
      I do not get it
          When I hear
                Your tears –

Nor need that be the case –
     For there is One
          To whom we both agree
               We owe our lives –

The one
     Through whom,
          By whom,
               In whom,
                    We stand today –

Full knowing
     We'd not even be,
           If he'd not stood by us
               When hell
                     In all its
                          Ugliness and
                                Filth
                                     Swept down
                                          Upon
                                               Our fragile
                                                     Lives.

He is the one –
     The one who
          Really
               "Gets it"
                     Now –
                          Just as before –

And says to you
     Just as He said to me –
          "It's okay, friend –
                I've carried you this far
                    And by My grace
                          I'll see you home –

"Let go to Me –
      And let Me carry
           All that weight from past –
                For you're not built
                     To carry all that freight.

"And go ahead –
      For I decide
          What things in life
                You need to bear
                       That you might
                            Fully grow –

And all the rest –
     I take
          And throw away
               That you might
                    Rise in life –
                         Like eagles –
                              Borne when young
                                   Until their
                                        Strength of wing
                                             Enables them
                                                  To rise up
                                                       On their
                                                            Own."

Press on,
     My friend –
          The battle's o’er,
               And victory's won;
                    You'll be okay
                         As will your son –

Rise up,
     Rise up and
          Seize the day –
               For it's the day
                    Christ has prepared for you –
                         And for your son –

Rejoice!

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