December 9th

“Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
    righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
    and righteousness will look down from the sky.” Psalm 85:10-11

sometimes, they are like
young lovers, who cannot see
anyone else around them, as
every moment is taken up
in trying to discover every facet
of the other who attracts them so.
sometimes, they are like
those couples who have known
each other so long, and so well,
they can finish the sentences
the beloved starts.
sometimes, they are like
that pair of folks we see each day,
walking hand in hand, making
sure that the other does not fall,
those vows they spoke so long ago
shining through every white hair,
every wrinkle on the face, every
creak and crack in old bones.
but in every time,
they are the constants of our lives,
modeling the gift and the grace
and the grit of your peace and mercy,
your faithfulness and love,
which came in that thin season
of hope so long ago, and comes
once again, in the soft companionship
we need in these days.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman