Human Crossroads

I’ve often struggled with faith in

The Creator of All Space and Time

But here, today,

               I find myself more struggling with faith in

               His most precious creation – Mankind

Maybe my heart is somehow defunct

Maybe I seek my own worth through

               Other’s validation

Maybe I’m needy or lonely

Maybe I’m just a Broken Creation

Maybe I’m mis-focused or say the wrong things

Maybe I try just way too hard to be seen

Maybe I come across as entirely too tough

Maybe I’m too honest or too kind

or then again, maybe I’m not kind enough

                              [I don’t know]

I do know that I’m disappointed

I see that through love and kindness and grace

               We could all of us be absolutely amazing

We could show this world His Amazing Face.

I’m not talking about buying an overpriced $6 caramel latte for the next affluent stranger in line

I’m talking about making a difference, an impact,

               I’m talking about loving to the point of Divine.

But instead we choose ridiculous choices

               We choose to be hateful and full of spite

               We choose to not see the other side of a story

               We choose to not extend grace, we’d rather be right.

               And we choose not to accept grace when it is extended

               Because it would grossly alter our pride.

               We choose not to enrich our relationships

We choose to walk away and set them aside

rather than engage in a Very Worthy Battle

In the past 168 hours,

I’ll admit my world has been thoroughly rattled.

I don’t understand why we choose our choices we choose

But I see that in the end, I do see we lose.

We choose brokenness

               Time after time after time.

               And then we go

   And we choose it AGAIN.

I can’t even exclude myself from my own rhyme.

In my life there have been moments I came to a crossroads

Where I realized I’d been burned, betrayed and despised -

I had to choose right then between giving or stopping.

I could see (to my surprise) that my demise might well be the Great Booby Prize.

I had to choose between trusting and believing,

Or being suspicious, selfish and self-serving.

I have always chosen to be naïve.

I’ve always chosen to decide to believe that it must be worth the effort,

But oh, Lord, right now I could use a reprieve.