August 22nd

“For my sighing comes like my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water.” Job 3:24

grief can have a way
of becoming our daily bread—
sighs we cannot put down,
memories we cannot pretend away,
words we begin to speak aloud
into that all too familiar silence.
the glimpse of that chair
gently holding absence,
those towels still hanging
on the rack in their bathroom,
the reading glasses on that
unfinished book on the nightstand—
and tears groan from our eyes.
perhaps
when we think we need
to keep putting up a brave front
or force a smile as we
mover through the days,
we can simply bring our grief
into the heart of God,
where even the most silent
of sighs become prayers
God understands
all too well.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

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

August 20th

“Transgression speaks to the wicked
    deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
    before their eyes.” Psalm 36:1

we like to believe
that these words do not
speak about us at all
but
when
we close our eyes
and see the demons
prancing in our minds,
when
we look into our souls
withered by memes and posts,
when 

we dare to walk down 

into the basement
of our hearts where we keep
evil locked in storage,
when
we let those words of anger
swirl in our mouths
like the finest of whines,
when 

we take a forkful
of bitterness which tastes
so good we want
others to try a bite,
when

we revel in the cruelty
we could so easily toss
another’s way—
we know,
oh yes, we know
that truth which seems
ancient is still
fresh as this moment.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 19th

 

“There are many who say,
    ‘O that we might see
     some good!
Let the light of your face
     shine on us, O LORD!’" Psalm 4:6

the aide who
tenderly cares for
the medically
fragile student;

the taxi drivers
who work extra
shifts,
their tips going
to a co-worker's
cancer fund;

the young people
who spend their
gap year
with the families
living in poverty

rather than following

a singer around the world,

your face shines
through so many
people!

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 18th

“And Saul approved of their killing him.” Acts 8:1

let us be clear—
our hands are clean
for we have not picked
up any weapon and actually
caused the death of another.
but in our apathetic complicity
in the face of senseless wars
in which lives are lost
without any apparent remorse,
in our silence
when transgender kids
are mocked and bullied,
in giving up
reaching out to
elected officials because
they never respond,
in simply getting angry
at all the posts/memes/reels
showing all the cruelty,
hate, isms in the world
rather than challenging
the systemic causes—
in truth,
we approve slowly 

killing our souls.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 17th

"Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord;
   give praise, O servants of the Lord,
you that stand in the house of the Lord,
   in the courts of the house of our God." Psalm 135:1-2

you nervous parents as
leg jiggling kids get on the bus,
you teachers lining the walks
to cheer them a welcome,
join hands in a circle of joy.
you lifelong farmers and
weekend gardeners, you
lawn care workers and
farmers markets shoppers,
dance jigs in the rain after
weeks of drought conditions.
you who sit by the beds of
strangers in hospital rooms
who don't know who you
are but are in your care,
you first responders and
street pastors who rush
to gather up the fallen,
the forgotten, the damaged,
and the delusional,
sing soft dirges of hope
in the small hours of night.
everyone, everywhere,
wherever God is and
however God is found,
sing from your hearts!

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 16th

Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test! 2 Corinthians 13:5

we think we
need to show how
rigid we can be,
but the final
answer is compassion;
we memorize the
formula which conclusively
proves the errors of everybody,
but forgiveness is
like pi—
it goes on and on,
beyond what we can measure;
we can write a
lengthy essay on judgment,
but the only word
on the spelling test?
love.

perhaps it is not about
whether we know
all the right answers,
but whether Christ
is alive in us.
so look within.
test your heart.
check the margins
for mercy,
the footnotes
for grace,
the places where
compassion has been
written into the ordinary.
and if you discover
you haven't passed—

remember:
the teacher
is still sitting
beside you,
patiently
writing
love
at the top
of the page.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman