“Testimony”

How good you are, my Jesus, and how glad I am
that you have not left me alone,
that even from my first breath you have walked with me.

In those days when my mother and father were young and uncertain,
you were their rock and source of strength.
In my childhood, at a time when I was carefree in pigtails,
you were the spirit of joy and adventure
propelling me to the highest branches of the tree,
to explore the clearest pool in the mountain stream.

In my youth, you stood me tall in my goody two-shoes
and you protected me when I kicked them off.
As a not-yet-adult, you sent guides to shape my path;
unrelenting you called “Come further up and further in.”*
And when adulthood burst upon me with the pain of childbirth,
Jesus you were the wellspring of grace, strength and creativity.

I look across my years and say to my soul,
“Who else is like your God who has brought you this far?”
At every step and turn, Jesus, you are constant and yet surprising,
always saying:
“Come find me here.
“Now come, grow in this place.
“Walk with me down this new road.
“Learn from me and seek my face.”

You have not let me go nor have you let me stand still.
Amazing, Jesus, to retrace my steps,
to recount your goodness!
“I come to the end, I am still with you.”

*P.S. Thank you, God, for the imaginative parables of Narnia!