Second Wednesday in Lent

“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD
   in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13

too often
we are fixated on
(no, addicted to)
the chaos around us.
we close our eyes
to the suffering of others
afraid it might be a
vision of our future.
we push close
to the mirror, crowding out
the vulnerable.
so
open our eyes to goodness—
not just occasional acts
in the land of the privileged
who live as we cannot imagine,
but being intentional about justice
for the mentally ill filed away
in group homes, far from view,
for our aging populations forgotten
in those warehouses called nursing homes.
persistent in pursuing peace
for the children whose playgrounds
are filled with rubble and whose toys
are bits and pieces of shattered dreams
and whose parents are being buried
simply because they worked
in buildings the powerful deemed
to be threats to someone or something.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman