Isaiah 60: 1  Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! 

Come new to this day.
Remove the rigid
overcoat of experience,
the nation of knowing,
the beliefs that cloud your vision.

Leave behind the stories
of your life. Spit out the
Sour taste of unmet expectation.
Let the stale scent of what-ifs
waft back into the swamp
of your useless fears.

Arrive curious, without the armor
of certainty, the plans and planned
results of the life you’ve imagined.
Live the life that chooses you, new
every breath, every blink of
your astonished eyes.

The words of Rebecca del Rio

Psalm 72:4   May God defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

Today on the news I saw a picture of a father and daughter
who drowned trying to swim the Rio Grande.

Where are you, Holy One?

You have not defended the cause of your little ones.

Where are you, Hero of the weak?

You have not given deliverance to those fleeing danger, poverty, war.

Where are you, Mighty One?

You have not crushed the oppressors,
Those who put children in cages,
who pull babies from nursing mothers,
who imprison your beloveds in deplorable conditions.
Forgive us, we pray,
for these evil acts perpetrated on our behalf,
funded by our tax dollars, and
justified by our elected officials.

The words of Beth A. Richardson