circles on circles, within circles:

gathered and sown,

lines are drawn and sewn

we weave. we are woven. we are warped. we are woofed.

as we are intertwined,

are we twisted?

diverging into details

that seek not understanding

but right-ness.

or are we twined?

hearts blending, blurring, becoming

one within the One.

we are called and commanded:

“God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.”

He asks that we drape and cover ourselves

“with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

do we, though? do we?

is it compassion to see through the woman on the corner?

eyes turned down to hide tears and shame –

arms wrapped around emptiness that is not just hunger,

praying to be seen, really seen - not as an object of pity,

but as one fully invested with humanity: worthy of love, worthy of time.

is it kindness to become part of the faceless mob?

aiming angry arrows in 140 characters or less.

words honed to strike and tear

down into the depths of the heart

that may have been teachable before being torn.

is it humility to respond to someone’s experience

of disenfranchisement with defensiveness?

quick to say why it’s not, when

all they want is a listening ear and time.

time to pour their story out into the pool of life shared.

is it gentleness or patience to give burning anger

a foothold in a sacred space between two?

turning hearts cold and closing off the idea

that reconciliation and restoration can once again

cause love to bloom.

for all the times it is not,

i see what is.

eyes opened wide and hands extended,

bringing help and hope in a bowl of soup or cup of coffee.

lips that speak life and cause hope to spring up,

opening doors and hearts and lives with grace.

friends that sit quietly. knee to knee seeking

common holy ground in experiences that are wholly different yet wholly the same.

longtime lovers discovering forgiveness; turning once again

to the safety of each other’s arms.

God give us grace

to see that you are all and in all.

give us eyes to see what you see;

let our heart break for what breaks yours.

let us step bravely into authenticity,

to be your hands and feet

in a world that craves hope.

let us hem our circles to encircle our world.

let that true hope shine

as it is sown.

let love overflow from our hearts

and allow them to be sewn, one to another,

into the world You breathed

into being.