My place atop the Christmas tree may seem a lofty place for me, but humbly, I point down below through greenery and lights aglow to manger scene that holds the Christ who paid the price in sacrifice for every woman, man, and child – this perfect Lamb – this undefiled Rescuer, Redeemer, God I represent, and richly laud.
Written in response to Walt Wojtanik’s prompt at Poetic Bloomings to write about Christmas from the point of view of an inanimate object.If you look closely, you can see the cross that tops my Christmas tree.
They come to my city from distant lands – Homelands. Their reasons, many and varied – most, too heartrending to ponder.
They arrive parched – a desiccation born of dearth and death. Thirst knows no race, class, religion, or language. It knows only burning need for a well of hope from which to dip.
The ache of a woman, isolated in a strange new residence and unable to connect to life-giving resources, drowns in unanswered questions. She holds no words to pose them, and no near ear to hear her broken attempts. She thirsts at the well of understanding.
The profound pain of parents daily delivering their children into the hands of strangers who struggle to teach and to reach these children who hear only indistinct sound, and see the blank stare of confusion. Parents, unable to engage, thirst at the well of advocacy.
The fatigued fret of the soul weak with illness who has no visible path to wellness. The one whose world is silent, limited, and invisible. This soul thirsts at the well of wellbeing.
The yearning of a man to make known his skills, let alone make use of them to provide as he once did. To make known his intent to be self-sufficient. To be quickly found to be hardworking and capable. He thirsts at the well of opportunity.
The deep craving of the foreigner to make known their honorable intentions. To prove they are grateful and giving; loving and fun-loving; brave and tender. They thirst at the well of accurate perception.
They arrive parched from a common thirst – a thirst ready to be quenched in a city flowing with Water for Ishmael.
In Genesis 21:14-20, we read of Hagar and her son Ishmael, who were sent to the desert to die. God heard the boy crying from thirst, and He provided a well from which to drink. Water for Ishmael is named for this scripture passage. WFI’s intent is to quench the thirst of the “strangers in the desert,” by following the instructions of Leviticus 19:34: “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” ~ John 20:15
They say that wisdom comes with age. It has a name: We call it, “sage.” But Jesus set the record straight when friends of His who, in debate, approached Him, asking (well, demanding), “Who in heaven’s most outstanding?” No pause needed, Jesus smiled and placed before them one small child.
The older I get, the older I feel It’s hard to run. It’s hard to kneel. Can’t cartwheel as in childhood. (But, truth-be-told, I never could. 😉 ) Consistently can’t find my words – Can access just perhaps two thirds. Can’t run too fast. Can’t hear when asked. My skates and skis were long-since trashed. But I’ll still race you on my bike, and take a walk or even hike and talk and laugh and draw (kind of 😉 ) and listen well and deeply love.
Uncle Ray delivering milk for Warren Sanitary Dairy 1954
Back in the days of house-to-house milk delivery, Uncle Ray had the greatest technology: a horse-driven, refrigerated milk cart. The horse knew what she was doing. She would take Uncle Ray to the first home on the route. He would grab enough ice-cold milk from the cart for the next several homes. She would walk the cart to the spot where he would need to grab more milk, and wait there for him. Then along came even newer and greater technology: refrigerated delivery trucks. Unfortunately, Uncle Ray was not permitted to turn down the newer technology. Not only did it make his job harder, but he lost a dear friend and coworker.
Often new knowhow’s know how is negligible or nearly inept.
Dreams held within resist all hindrances, As though an iron breastplate shelters it. Equating fear and doubt as hidden sins, It will not recognize them, nor admit
Susceptibility may lie inside. It soundly strikes a metronome-like beat That pulses toward the goal that it has eyed, Where grueling pain and utter joy may meet.
But when a running water hose crimps tight, The urgent fix outweighs the aim at hand. The crimp must be relaxed … And this despite Whatever lofty plan was in demand.
Olympic hearts are human, in the end. They’ve earned soft hands to hold them as they mend.
pictured words 