If you
have faith, if faith in God has become part of your waking (and sleeping) life,
you become aware of a conundrum. You are not yet a citizen of heaven, but you
are also no longer a citizen of earth, what the Bible refers to as being in
this world but not of it. In a very real sense, you are “between,” tied to one,
longing for the other, but living between.
That’s the
idea that keeps recurring as I read Between Heaven and Earth: Poems by Kelly
Chripczuk. Chripczuk wears many hats – mother, spiritual director, pastor, wife,
writer, and poet. She knows what it means to be “between” all those hats, and
usually wearing most of them simultaneously. What do her poems tell us about
living, longing, and what lies in between?
Quite a
lot, as it turns out.
Chripczuk
divides her 45 poems in the collection by roughly but not exactly thirds. The “heaven
poems” are based on Bible passages, many of them written, she says, as part of
her sermon preparation process. (I identify here; I take sermon notes in the form
of rough drafts of poems.)
The “earth”
poems are based in the experiences of real life, and are further divided by the
seasons of fall, winter, spring, and summer. They include reflections in
origami, work, grandma’s chickadees, the arrival of spring, wet wood, and more.
But just became they are “earth” poems doesn’t mean they lack a spiritual
dimension, just as earthly life for a believer doesn’t lack spiritual
dimensions. Consider “Advent,” one of the winter poems.
Advent
The cat
comes in
through the
window after
his
morning jaunt. Fresh air
clings to
his mane, and I
bury my
face in the fluff
around his
neck.
I believe
this is also
how Christ
comes
into our
midst – soft
and
sudden, squeezing
in among
us, smelling
of earth
and grass
and
morning frost.
 |
| Kelly Chripczuk |
The “between”
poems are exactly that, contemplations of the space we live between heaven and
earth. This space is no less real than what’s covered in the “earth” poems, and
it’s no less spiritual than what Chripczuk covers in the “heaven” poems. It is
where we believers find ourselves, living between heaven and earth, trying to
make sense of both, trying to guide ourselves and our loved ones toward an
understanding of both.
The poems
of Between Heaven and Earth reflect
our tensions, our realities, and our hopes in simple yet profound ways.
Related:
Top photograph by Sven B via Unsplash. Used with permission.
1 comment:
I'm so happy to read this review, Glynn. I enjoyed Kelly's first book immensely!
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