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