October 31st

"I walk before the LORD

   in the land of the living.
I kept my faith, even when I said,
   'I am greatly afflicted';" Psalm 116:9-10

as the Day of the Dread approaches

and we want to crawl as deep

into the pit of forgetfulness as we can,

may we take a moment to watch

all those little witches and wizards,

those hobgoblins and sports stars,

those ballerinas and ninja turtles,

those Barbies in pink and little men in black

wander from house to house

giggling and whispering

among themselves, just waiting 

to get back home where they will

remove all the masks which cover

their wonder, joy, and hope, for

they are the ones who know 

with the faith of the foolish that

there are no monsters under the bed

or walking dead hiding in the corners

except those we shape from the dust

of our fragmented fears.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 30th

"And I say, 'O that I had wings like a dove!
   I would fly away and be at rest;
truly, I would flee far away;
   I would lodge in the wilderness;'" Psalm 55:6-7

like Frodo, we wish that

we did not have to live

in these perilous times,

yet here we are, by your grace.

so, may we seek to find

that piece of you in every person,

even those we are convinced

are empty of compassion.

may we never abandon our call

to be people of grace, of justice,

of peace, of including everyone.

may we try, as hard as it may be,

to never let the word hopeless

become a part of our vocabulary,

just as it has never been

a part of yours.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 18th

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me." Psalm 139:1

you know the ghosts that
inhabit the attics of my memories

and those monsters of my id

hiding in the closets and under

the bed on which i lay my weariness.

you know those words of shame,

of criticism, of unkindness written

in the dictionary of my mind

and you have heard those love

songs, those lullabies i composed

for myself in the silence of life.

you know those sirens who sit

on the rocks singing their seduction

and you know those paths i am still

searching for in my heart.

you know,

because you love me enough

to want to know me even more.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 17th

"It was I who fed you in the wilderness, in the land of drought." Hosea 13:5

because you know us so well,
your food truck is stocked

with grace for those who

have been rejected by family,

with hope for all who drag

their weary souls behind them,

with justice for the ones

dumped by the side of the road

by all the platitude mouthing privileged,

with love which can ease the acid

taste of hate sitting in the pit

of everyone's stomach,

to those who walk the valleys of death,

you hand cups of life with a guarantee

of free refills through all time,

and somehow, for every single 

one of us, the bill seems 

to have mysteriously disappeared.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 16th

"He said to them, 'Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money - not even an extra tunic.'" Luke 9:3

you pretty much traveled
lighter than light on your journey

but when we set out

to share the simple message

of God's love for everyone,

well,

we need one of those 

hotel luggage carts to hold

our books of polity,

all of our tomes of theology,

the files holding old sermons

as well as outdated ideas,

our notes from all those seminars

on church growth and how 

to create a magnetic church,

and you just shake your head

in amazement, walking on

with nothing but 

pockets full of grace.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 7th

"The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,

    and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, 'Glory!'”  Psalm 29:9

i have rested in old chairs

worn smooth by so many generations

and listened to their silent

prayers lodged in the memories

of the river stones in the walls,

and whispered, 'glory!'

i have taken my place in

decision-making church bodies

where the same discussion

keeps being tabled until

the very next meeting, and

muttered under my breath,

'good grief.'

i have sat on carpet squares

as little kids gathered around

to listen to a book being read

while their attention and hands

were distracted by the golden

retriever curled up on the floor

and sang to myself, 'thank you!'

  

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

October 6th

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
   How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
   and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” Psalm 13:1-2

the people with the microphones
in their hands and cameras over
their shoulders want stories of resilience
while all many are trying to do
is find makeshift bandages for
their broken spirits.
Appalachia Strong, Boston Strong,
Manchester Strong all sound wonderful
in memes, on media, in songs, but
where is the sign which says,
‘shattered into tiny pieces and we
can’t even make a mosaic of hope.’
the pushers of platitudes talk about
‘we are at our best when the worst happens’
or
‘folks will rise like phoenixes from
this terrible moment,’
but they are not the ones
standing in ashes up to their hearts.
why is it, that in the most
excruciating grief for so many
the world (even those of faith)
seems to send the message
‘no laments allowed.'

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 5th

 "O God, you are my God, I seek you,

          my soul thirsts for you;
     my flesh faints for you,
          as in a dry and weary land 

    where there is no water." Psalm 63:1

the loneliness which seeps

into us even in the most 

crowded of places seems

like our most faithful friend.

the barrenness of humanity

seems to make our world unable 

to produce any sort of crops

of goodness or of peace, 

of generosity or even simple grace.

the springs of hope which once

quenched our parched souls 

now seem to be only a trickle 

as if the pipes have been 

clogged by fear.

yet, 

and yet,

we will not give up, trusting

that as always, we will find you

in the most unexpected places

and the least likely people.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

October 4th

"Then he looked up at his disciples and said: 'Blessed are you '" Luke 6:20a

blessed are those who climb power poles
to run new lines to valleys and up hillsides

and those who haul generators on pack

mules up the water cratered mountains.

blessed are the ones who resist the urge

to ship boxes of things no one really needs

as well as those who make as many donations

as possible to those with boots on the ground.

blessed are stores which put out furniture

for the asking to those who have lost everything

and strangers who pile up the debris and haul

it away before anyone can catch their names.

blessed are . . . 

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 1st

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

roads may be impassable
but God is still making a way
for the helpers to travel.
bridges may be washed away
but God is sending the engineers
with the equipment to build 

temporary crossings.

people may be stuck 

up on the sides of mountains

or down in isolated valleys

but God is using old-fashioned

pack mules and modern drones

to bring medicine, food, water.

cell towers may be out 

but God is still listening to you

and to all those offering prayers.

people may feel cut off 

from neighbors and friends

but God is stuck to them

like velcro.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman