September 14th

“Look on all who are proud, and bring them low; tread down the wicked where they stand.” Job 40:12

we enjoy playing King of the mountain,
piling up our little hills of certainty
so we can look down at all
who are not like us
we make out lists
from headlines and hashtags,
rumors shared until we think
they must be the truth,
and those names we call
other people whenever
we become angry and scared.
from our high ground,
we can point at all of them—
the problems,
the sinners,
the fools,
the faithless.
and God waits beneath the smoke
of those bridges we burned,
hoping we will notice
our dirty hands
and that we no longer
stand on holy ground.
maybe the first step
toward justice is not
trying to climb higher
but coming down—
kneeling in that dust
where mercy always waits
for us to remember
we are only human.

(c( 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo:@ThomShuman

September 13th

“The heavens are telling the glory of God,
   and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

once, we would lie
on our backs finding
wonderful shapes in the clouds
scudding across the sky—
now we are so glued
to our screens
we never notice the sky.
once,
we would laugh, shout, and
dance in the rain as it
soaked our clothes, us,
and all of our friends—
now, we grumble every time
the weather folks even
warn about the possibility
of showers.
once,
we would try to catch
as many snowflakes as
we could on our tongues
and then make angels
in the snow with each other—
now, we see only
the inconvenience of having
to shovel or fire up snowblowers.
perhaps the reason
we could care less about creation
is we no longer see it
through the eyes of
wonder and joy, wanting it
to last forever.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @ThomShuman

 

September 12th

“we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,” Acts 15:25

for every well-known televangelist,
there is that neighbor
who goes around dropping
fresh vegetables on porches
because they grew too many
(intentionally)
for every famous author
who requires fees for
their book signings,
there is the volunteer
sitting in a quiet corner
of the library listening and
encouraging a child to read.
for every influencer who
has a spot on every platform,
there is that fellow using
his no-tech box full of tools
to tighten, fix, and spruce up
mobility devices at senior centers.
for every big name in any field,
there are those no-names
who are remembered because
they never wanted the spotlight,
but only to pass a gift on to
someone else no one knew.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 11th

“When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." John 10:32

it is the whisper of that grief
we carry which is too heavy to bear:
“Lord, if you had been here…”
whispered in the smoke and falling ashes,
carved in the bench in a backyard,
wrapped like a tefillin around our hearts
through years of war,
the reading of names
with silence after each,
the lowering of flags,
coffins and urns 

placed in sacred ground,
the lives divided into
before and after forever.
Jesus does not give a reason
or try to defend heaven’s silence
but simply draws near,
and maybe that is how
faith is rekindled—
not with answers, but
simply by the One who
steps into our weeping,
sits with us in hope’s ashes,
and will not leave us there.
one year, twenty-five, a lifetime—
we still remember,
and it may be that
God remembers as well,
not to rip off a scab,
but to keep reminding us
that sorrow does not
have that final word.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @ThomShuman

September 10th

“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,” Job 31:16

i never realized it
came from old Job:
that apology we hear
all too often in our times—
“if I have yada yada yada”
in which the speaker makes clear
if there was any offense
or hurt, it was due to
the attitude of the injured,
not the speaker.
the hungry aren’t asking
for a banquet, just a
decent meal,
the widow simply wants us
to see the emptiness
of her life,
the forgotten would like us
to realize they have a name
which is not ‘get lost.’
in truth, others don’t want
some sort of
one-size-fits-all apology,
but people who are
as honest as Job in confronting
our failures in treating others
as we demand to be treated.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @ThomShuman

September 9th

“The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.” Job 30:17

for some reason,
the platitudes and poems
never mention the sharp
teeth grief comes with—
it finds those tender spots
we thought we had hidden
and nibbles at the little
strength we try to husband.
that cottage industry
never tells one of how
our bones which ache—
from the memory of a kiss,
the fading sound of a laugh,
the feathery touch
of an imagined hand,
the whisper of that name
which makes the hollow space
even emptier,
are placed on the rack
as grief, slowly, gleefully
turns the wheel
we can’t explain it,
make peace with it,
or dress it up in those
comforting words of therapy
but only hope that God
sits with us,
in those restless hours
until, somehow—
morning comes.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo:@Thom-Shuman

September 8th

“As with a deadly wound in my body,
    my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
    “Where is your God?” Psalm 42:10

like a stone thrown through
that window cracked by grief,
the world hurls the age-old
question to us every day.
and we search our sanctuaries,
we long for answers to show up,
we offer the well-worn platitude
that everything will turn out well.
but maybe
God is in that hand
reaching across the table
to the lonely curmudgeon,
in the stranger who listens
to us in the airplane,
in the children who would
stop believing in Santa Claus
before they give up on kindness,
in the weary single parent
who gets up every morning
and tries again.
e might not always
recognize God among us,
but wherever compassion
interrupts cruelty’s rants,
wherever folks with trembling
knees push back against hate,
wherever love will never
leave anyone behind—
God is already there,
waiting patiently for us.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @ThomShuman