We sit in darkness

After Isaiah 33

We sit in darkness,

surrounded, besieged

on all sides, defenses

exhausted, resources

gone, given to appease,

given in vain, nothing

left, nothing to give,

allies vanished, the brave

weeping in the streets,

abandoned and naked,

exposed to destruction.

Only then do we pray

only then do we seek

only then do we throw

   ourselves at his feet

only then

only then does the wind blow.

Photograph by George Hodan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

Brokenness

After Isaiah 33

In the bottom of the hole,

bathed in darkness, then

I feel the hand extended,

thrust down through gloom

and mud, grabbing hold

of me and yanking me

upward through mud and dirt,

pulling me, covered

in filth, pulling me gasping

into the light.

Repeat:

In the midst of brokenness,

in the thick of destruction

and annihilation, left

with no alternatives, options

gone, strategy destroyed,

tactics trashed, nothing left

in my hands, nothing left

to give, then comes

the blessing.

Photograph by Linnaea Mallette via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.