Thankful
for the contradictions
that are life,
for the incongruities
that provoke life
for the thrill
and the weariness,
the captivation and yes
the frustration
Thankful
for the sturdy rock
of holy precepts and for
the eroding spring of divine grace
for manna from the clear sky
and life from the impenetrable grave
thankful to be called into
the day, and then
thankful to call it a day
Thankful
that You are my rest
and my agitation
my peace and my chaos
Thankful
that You are
bigger, grander than it all
yet still You painstakingly count
minuscule grains of sand
distracted
mindful
daydreaming
over each sandy bit
of beauty and history
held in Your palm
one
two
three
four
five
each so glorious
and You
are glorious too
Thankful
for the sheer magnitude
of hallowed mystery
manifest there:
in the sunset
and again there:
in whale songs and moonlight
manifest even there:
in humanity
Your most heartbreaking
of contradictions
Thankful
to sigh
and know that You
can hold our tantrums and our love
our tenderness and our
worst violence
without fragmentation
no matter our multiplying shards and pieces
which are not nearly
so beautiful as
the sand:
one
two
three
four
five
the turmoil
of news, of war
piles higher and higher
in your hand and I wonder how
you find any of us
beneath our ironies and sins
Thankful
that You do.