August 21st

“They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.” Job 2:13

we don’t always need
the solution to every problem,
or to come up with the
perfect answer,
do the right thing, or
even try to fill pauses
with words which only
amplify the silence.
sometimes
when a friend is going
through a patch so rough
it defies explanations,
or too deep to fill
with multitudes of platitudes,
or even too holy
for us to dare touch,
in that space, maybe
all we can do is
sit in the dust with them,
letting our presence whisper—
‘you are not alone.’
no making everything better,
no rushing to the next step,
no advice we read somewhere.
simply
being there
until the silence
is not so lonely.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman