Persistent, aren't you?

how many times
did you have
to sit on your hands,
to keep from reaching out
and fixing all
that we had broken;

how often
did you have
to bite your tongue
to keep from telling us
what to do
when we didn't have a clue;

how do you manage
to keep your lips
pressed tightly together
so you don't laugh out loud
at all our foolishness;

how often
did you want
to send your Child
to us
until you could wait
no longer
to save us?

for your patience,
and your persistence,
we give you thanks,
Enduring God.

Amen.

(c) 2006 Thom M. Shuman

what if . . .

what if
the Ten Words of Sinai
granted us true freedom
to live with each other
as well as the Law-Giver . . .

what if
it were better
to wear the jester's hat
on a 98-pound weakling's body,
than to be the wisest, the strongest,
the biggest kid on the block . . .

what if
God's house became
a sanctuary for silence;
a cathedral of compassion;
a paradise filled with prayer;
instead of just another
corporate entity . . .

Law-Giver;
Grace-Bearer;
Fool-Maker:

what if . . .

(c) 2003 Thom M. Shuman

is my cross
only a part
of the pocket change
i scoop off my dresser,
rushing to work
in the morning?

is my cross
just another piece of jewelry
like the diamond
in an athlete's ear,
or the necklace
Madonna drapes around her neck?

or is my cross:

my aging parents,
whose confusion
shatters my soul;

is it the truth
about my physical condition
which no pill or treatment
will ever change;

is it the
humpty-dumpty mess
in which my children find themselves,
and all of Mom's love
and all of Dad's resources
cannot put back together this time?

Cross Bearer:
i would prefer easier ones,
so help me to bear the cross
you offer to me.

(c) 2006 Thom M. Shuman