Out of Hiding

There is life in fallow fields.
Bears hibernate, plants go dormant as the cold comes on.
Trees drop leaves and pass the winter stiff and quiet.
Branches creak but do not rustle until spring.
All kinds of critters burrow side by side.
The earth is crowded with sleepers.
No wonder we too hide out sometimes.

When so much is doubtful, hiding seems like a good idea.  Let life occur at a distance.   Follow the action from the safety of the bleachers.  Settle back onto the couch and watch the screen.  Keep those options open.  I see through pretence, but hesitate to speak.  Decisions get delayed.  I have come to watch.

You call our bluff.   We aren’t the kind of creatures who can lurk for long.  What lies hidden comes out, as visible as crabapples.  Even when I’m not ready and not certain, my wavering heart breaks into life.  Who we are cannot be postponed.  We are always going somewhere, even from the couch.  We may as well jump up and do it.

Philosophers who condemn us to be free don’t get it.  We are lured into existing by love.  Even when our homes and churches are divided.   When we are too angry to listen, too desolate to act.  When we huddle with our own kind.

You call us back together.  The cup of blessing passes among us.  Forgiveness is spoken.  This foundation holds only because we cannot lay it ourselves.