June 12th

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25

these folks who want us
to let them guide us through life—
they are like the people
in movies and TV shows
who stand at arrival gates
holding signs with someone’s
name written on them and
people blindly follow them.
for that is what these folks
want us to do, to follow blindly—
simply because they offer
the trendiest seminar,
the latest book of the day,
the top ten of whatever
list we carry around in
our buckets, until we realize
we are left with emptier pails.
but the Spirit?
the Spirit simply wants
to be that friend who has already
gone through the grief,
known the job loss,
dealt with broken relationships,
lain awake for night after night
and will show us the way out
however long a journey it might be.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 11th

“Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back” Ecclesiastes 11:1

for those shores flooded
with the flotsam of fear,
for those riverbanks which
overflow with injustice,
for those communities who wonder
if the dam will break from
the rising anger,
may we continue to keep scattering
grace like twigs little kids toss
into water running down the street.
we don’t know where it lands,
nor whose thirst it might slake,
or what souls it might nourish
long after it disappears
from our sight.
but God says to trust what is given—
healing words,
hands which refuse to let go,
an open door to a stranger.
for every act of kindness
we release upon troubled waters
becomes a part of that river
God is sending toward hope.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 10th

"The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouting of a ruler among fools." Ecclesiastes 9:17

these days it’s not with seltzer bottles
or cramming bodies into tiny cars
or seeing who has the most
slips on banana peels.
no, our pratfall of clowns
is obsessed with social media,
with cage fights on hallowed grounds,
with whom can take the greatest
offense at honest questions.
and there seems to be no end
to those who are jockeying
for the point position
in the flock of fools
which take to the air each day.
so when we are tempted
to run away and join this circus,
may we hear the songs children
make up in the backyards,
may we stop to hear the memories
of folks who have seen so many
traveling sideshows come
and go throughout their lives
they have lost count,
and pay attention to those
who teach us how to weave
unraveled hopes back together.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 9th

"They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel." Matthew 15:30c-31

we aren’t asked to tell
folks to throw away their
walking sticks or wheelchairs.
we are called to make sure
children who lose breakfast or lunch
on summer break are fed.
that neighbors or friends
who have no transportation
get to doctor visits and clinics.
that kids who are in the ‘system’
have trained advocates who
will be their voices
that all who are transitioning
are known by their chosen name
especially ‘beloved.’
after all,
you do not expect us
to be miracle workers
but simply those who share
grace, compassion, justice,
and hope—
which is why we praise you.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 8th

“And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." Matthew 15:23b

we want you—
to tell the forgotten to stop
standing on the corner
with their pathetic signs.
to shush those stuck
in hopelessness voicing
their silly expectations that
we privileged will do more
than offer prayers
before heading out
to our safe, safe lives.
to place a restraining order
on compassion which keeps
stalking us, hoping we will
fall in love with it so deeply
that we cannot keep from
caring for the most vulnerable,
never realizing that when
we want to send the hurting,
the broken, the fearful,
the lonely, the grieving away,
forgetting that it is actually you
we want to get rid of.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 7th

“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;” Job 42:5

at first, it was the preacher’s rumors,
the hymn words i read
sitting next to my mom,
those hand-me-down stories
around summer camp evenings.
i learned to trace your name
in the dust of the faith of others,
filled the pockets of my soul
with answers stolen from friends.
but now:
after loneliness was my only friend,
after my doubts outnumbered stars,
after grief sat in the shadowed corner—
now my eyes are wide open.
not in easy certainty but
in that soft presence,
not in answers from whirlwinds
but in your whispering my name.
finally i can release
what i think i know,
my heart open to that
mystery woven from grace.
and while hearing about you
yesterday
was all i needed (and
maybe wanted)
today,
in the silence after the storm,
i see you.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 6th

“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

before the sunbeam creeps
across my pillow
before the kettle whistles,
before fear places today’s
lesson before me,
my soul wanders toward you,
not because i am strong
but because i am thirsty.
those deserts i carry—
worries in my wallet,
grief lurking behind my smile,
hope rubbed raw by waiting
cannot satisfy themselves
so i come searching
as i wait for that mercy
falling like showers
onto a parched desert.
you are the water
for my prayer seeds,
that well deeper than emptiness,
the dawn rising while
i am still discovering
how to trust light
and so, before it reaches out
for anything else, my heart
stretches out for you.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman