Grieving With Those Who Grieve

In this poem, the author and speaker are not the same (specifically in the first two stanzas). I do have a sense of grief, but it’s not out of my personal experience or loss. It’s much more about grieving with those who grieve, and longing for That Day.

“That Day Is Not Here Yet”

Where, O Death, is thy sting?
It’s here, piercing my soul,
Draining me of all I once assumed.
I know someday I’ll laugh,
Reminiscing, as of a dream,
The pain so engulfing today.
But That Day is not here yet.

Grief is all I know.
Today’s victory is another’s,
And this my only comfort:
The victory of the grave is not eternal.
But today the piled dirt and hard cold stone
Keep me anchored to this world,
Even as I long for another.

I live in the pain of this tension:
The Already and the Not Yet.
Jesus is life and hope.
And hope does not disappoint.
(Except in this shortsighted fact that)
We hope because we see not.
That Day is not here yet.

Death is already conquered,
But it is the enemy to be destroyed last.
Earning wages of the Fall, we all with Adam die
Even as all in Christ will be made alive.
Everything within me groans, with all creation,
For the reconciliation and final redemption
When all things will be made new.

There is hope.
But That Day is not here yet.

Resurrection

Birthdays are overrated. I know, because I recently had one. But beyond the superficiality, it's made me think. About life. About my accomplishments thus far. About my failures. About dreams and goals and plans. About my calling. About who I am. And about who God wants me to be.

This past year brought many changes. Some of them were great and beautiful. But I also saw my world come to a crashing halt as hopes and dreams died a cruel death-at the hands of organized religion.

My God is a God of resurrection. My hope is in Him, and He will accomplish His plans for my life.

But it's the getting there, the waiting, the silence, the uncertainty that brings so much pain. Yet it is in these things - because of them, not in spite of them- that growth occurs. New life begins to bud. Resurrection appears.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

My heart is parched and burning. I'm not there yet. I don't even know what "there" is. But I'm ready. I'm ready to surrender. I'm ready for God to take the brokenness and hurt. I'm ready to know His discipline. I'm ready to know the death and pain and darkness of the cross ...

...because I want to know new life. I want to know His glory. I want to know resurrection.

Wake up, O sleeper.
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.