I just received SOS flares from two of my friends. Not so coincidentally, they are mothers, with concerns for their sons, asking for prayers, as I have time and time again. And so I mingle mine with theirs:
God, you know too well the heart of the torchbearer
When the handle is heavy
and the light seems but a tiny spark
surrounded by a dark abyss
The lethal words,
whether diagnosis,
judgment, or disillusionment,
hang heavy on our bones
Though we try with all our might
To focus on the light
Hopelessness sucks the life out of our dreams
Please, keep our flame
For the night is long
Our panted breaths that clamor for oxygen,
Don’t have enough energy to cry out to you,
and our feet that carry the weight of the world,
are finding it hard to move another step
So we ask for prayer–
A gathering of that tiny cinder of hope that is left in our heart
Offered out as a torch, to you and to others
In confidence that it can become ablaze
Perhaps by raising it up
It can help us believe again
That all will be well
And it will be well
Because when we raise to you our burdens
Our vulnerabilities, our very souls
It moves us from isolated ashes in the abyss of night
To a communion of fire combatting the wind
And the tiny sparks that others offered me
That kept me, and my (now grown) children alive
As we faced battlefields, and playgrounds together
Are now part of my fire, which I’ve added to yours
Flames that are joined together into a glow of strength,
Pointing us in the right direction,
Illuminating us to the truth
That somewhere out there in this dark, dismal world
There is a peace that passes all understanding
And the path of light we leave
Will mark the steps of our children.
Help us to shine brightly
Breathe deeply, and
Keep raising the torch!
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
There’s hope. Thanks.