O God, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
…. There is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
—Habakkuk 1.2-3, 2.3
Give us trust, O Love,
amid the great tribulations we bring upon ourselves,
and those yet to come,
that your hands hold this mess,
that even as we cry out in fear or despair
this swirling gloom
is the dark chaos of your Creation,
secure in your arms,
blessed and destined for light and glory.
How long, O God, will we cry out?
Long, for the creation is a great unfolding,
the birthing and dying of stars a great span,
and the story is long, beyond our lifetimes.
But it is the story of Love, and Love prevails,
working its grace since before the dawn of human cruelty.
Even in the thickest shadows
we learn to face the dark
and say with trust and hope:
and yet… and yet…
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net