How best to know God’s close at hand?
To bridge the loss: as o’er the land
Our shadows lengthen; evil’s stains
Mar and wound compassion’s gains.
How best to know God’s spirit lives?
Infusing hearts that yearn to give
That see deep need, where faith can start,
Through touching God within our hearts.
How best to know Christ-child will show?
When manger-laid, so long ago
He came to dark’ning times: a gift,
A healer for our deepening rift.
Our loss made whole as we embrace
God’s love: its well; its source; its place;
A love that only asks we share
The joy of what we know is there.
Lest we forget God lives within
In times we’re lost, as our hopes dim,
As storms beset our homes and land
God’s gift of memory: Christ-child’s hand.
Stephen Bolles
All rights reserved
12/7/16