​My presence will go with you
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be with you
 
I am with you now
You know that I am
And tomorrow, and tomorrow
I will never leave you
 
So do not hesitate
Do not hold back
Let yourself go
So I may go, too
 
In going together, you will find rest
Rest from worry
Rest from the world
Rest in me
 
I will give you rest
For it does not depend on you
You will do great things
My presence will go with you

Written September 9, 2020 as my small group began reading Radical Amazement by Judy Cannato

​Your sky is grey, God
There are no stars, no sun or moon
Only shades of grey somehow too bright for my sensitive eyes
Yet the stars and the sun and the moon are all still there
Infinite stars and suns and moons in countless galaxies
All beyond my sight, but surely there
This empty grey sky reveals as much as a clear dark night spread with twinkling stars
It reveals that I am blind, I cannot see
 
I try to contain your boundless sky
To make it a canopy over these houses and trees
            and over the houses and trees of those I know
            and over places I’ve been
But it is not a blanket
            or gauze
            ​or even a glass ceiling
It is infinity, or a void somehow full of potential
Alpha and Omega commingled and co-creating
 
Your sky stretches to all that was and is and ever will be
To the heavens, whatever that means
To Love
 
When I see by starlight, I glimpse your vast design
I begin to sense my place in the universe
A lovely speck in something too big with beauty to fully perceive
But when you hide the stars from my view
I am still part of your creation
Formed in your image
Fearfully and wonderfully made
Beyond understanding

Written March 15, 2023 in response to a question posed in reference to John 3:1-19 in One Day I Wrote Back by Jane Herring

Being born from above as the Bible rang true
New winds blowing
           that I didn’t understand
           that terrified me
           that forever changed me
Born into the church as I was dunked in the tank
           soaking wet
           freezing cold
           emerging into new life
The real birthing began as I tried to follow Jesus
           joining ROC
           visiting churches
           asking questions
Born from above so many times
           in tragedy
           in love
           in unexpected ways
Born from within
           woven together
           in my mother’s womb
           and before time began
Born from beyond
           the big boom
           never-ending stardust
           ruach that lives on
Born new every morning
           especially
           but not only
           the ones I begin with God