Fifth Friday in Lent

“my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.” Psalm 130:6

we’re not that sort,
Lord,
those who wait
those who watch.
we are the impatient ones,
always running, always rushing,
flitting from one thing to another.

we’re not that sort,
Lord,
those who wait
those who watch.
yet
(in these last months)
we have discovered
the patience underlying
the hard task of waiting
for
hope to appear on horizons
grace to tiptoe down the hall
love to whisper in our ears.

we’re not that sort,
Lord,
those who wait
those who watch.
yet
in those uncertain days
when we kept cleaning
our glasses and putting
drops in our eyes for
fear we couldn’t see clearly,
we have learned to practice
the spiritual discipline of
watching

simply keeping (not
just our eyes) but our
souls wide open
to find you in the places
and people we never expected

© 2022 Thom M. Shuman