Tuesday, July 31, 2018

poor


 the rich are ‘struggling’

so that they need some more breaks,

but when those in need

seek help with food, hope, or life,

it’s ‘you broke it, you fix it.’



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Monday, July 30, 2018

monday


two bathrooms to clean,

a week-load of used towels,

vacuum half the rooms –

can you explain once again

why you didn’t rest on Monday?



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Sunday, July 29, 2018

predestination


before time ticktocked,

before the dust had settled

so you could shape us,

you decided we were yours

and have never changed your mind.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Saturday, July 28, 2018

shopping


the grocery list
could be filled with canned goods,
fresh veggies, needed supplies
for the food pantry, with one
thing for me, not vice versa.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Friday, July 27, 2018

murmur


brushing the cat,

walking a dog in the snow,

watching dusk’s rainfall,

and yet, we grumble about

these things that should bring us joy.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Wednesday, July 25, 2018

yesterday


yesterday, you were

the fellow dashing into traffic

to help push a stalled car, and

the lady who bought all

the books, pencils, crayons,

paper, and backpacks in the store,

and were taking them to donate

to the local schools, until

your car stopped running.

where will I see you today?



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


creation


help us remember

that water, air, all creatures

existed with you

before they did with us, so

we should show them more respect.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

bugged


does it bug you, God,

that folks expect you to help

find them parking spots,

but believe you should not do

anything for the hungry?



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Monday, July 23, 2018

praying?


praying, we flit from

memories to song fragments,

this complaint to that,

then maintain that you were not

paying any attention.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Sunday, July 22, 2018

when


when we are empty,

fill us with your grace and hope;

when we are lonely,

surround us with those who care

for others just as you do.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Saturday, July 21, 2018

kingdom, come


early each morning,

your kingdom arrives en masse –

ducklings and squirrels,

tiny birds twirling in the air,

and Gibbs trembles in delight!



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Friday, July 20, 2018

IF, TG?


some face another

Monday, where pain always lives,

or Wednesdays almost

impossible to get past,

or that Every Day pain,

grief, poverty, rejection

no one else cares about;

if it were only a Friday

everyone could give thanks for



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Thursday, July 19, 2018

others


the lost and the addicted,

the broken and the stranger,

the despised and the fearful,

the immigrant and the child,

all the Others are really us.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

steps


while we are deciding

to turn in your direction,

you have already

come further than we ever

could imagine, to find us.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

hungry


we gorge on anger,

feed at the bitter buffet,

chug bottles of bile,

never realizing that

we are starving for mercy.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Monday, July 16, 2018

in

in cold, scary caves,
in open-hearted neighbors,
in relieving pain,
in free school supplies for kids,
we serve by your side, O God.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Sunday, July 15, 2018

the radar shows

with the same forecast
for angry and bitter words
in the coming days,
we could use a few pop-up
showers of hope, peace, and grace.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Saturday, July 14, 2018

camper

you strike the Spirit
against our hard-as-flint hearts,
in hopes that a spark
will ignite our dried-up grace
into compassion for all.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Friday, July 13, 2018

no lines

meanwhile, you wait for
someone to show up for your
Let’s-Build-Some-Hope sale.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Thursday, July 12, 2018

summer walk

we take a daily stroll
through the flowing fields of fear
and hire landscapers
to tend our gardens of doubt,
ignoring creation’s gifts.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

what the world needs now

it is so easy
to hate evil in our world,
yet seems difficult
to love good so deeply we
can’t help but give it away.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman
 
 

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

finger play

we are so busy
jabbing fingers at others
when we could be
pointing to the One who longs
to reconcile the broken.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Monday, July 09, 2018

balloon man

Jesus walks the streets
of the kingdom, bouquets of
Spirit-filled balloons
in his hands, ready to give
one to each person he meets.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Friday, July 06, 2018

teller

at the scheduled time,
with our shopping list in heart,
we crank out prayers,
when all we want is God to
tell us who we really are
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Thursday, July 05, 2018

when

God’s grace flows freely,
hope walks through fear-littered streets,
peace bridges divides,
twisted justice is straightened,
when we love, when we love, when . . .
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Wednesday, July 04, 2018

slated

the world has scribbled
our lives with fear and anger,
but you cleanse our souls,
so that, tabula rasaed,
you may write grace in large print.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

 

Tuesday, July 03, 2018

abyss

from the back of life,
you continue to push us
closer to the edge
we dread, till we have no choice
but to step into wonder.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Monday, July 02, 2018

hesed

when friends drift away,
when family loses us,
when angry bombast
sticks a foot out to trip us,
caritas non deficit*
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman
*love never falls away

Sunday, July 01, 2018

hemmed in

when we place our faith
in all our fears and worries,
we become too scared
to reach out and touch the hem
of your embracing goodness.
 
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman