Holy One, we have arrived at Good Friday – but it is not the arrival we welcomed or wanted. Betrayal is in the air and with it centuries of broken promises and violated agreements. Daggers emerge and whole lives are swallowed up. We see the road before us. We quake in fear.
Yet when we turn and look to our left or to our right, you are there – standing alongside us. Your brow is furrowed from pain and your clothes tattered, but it is your eyes that capture our attention. You look upon us and it is as if eternity passes. Shadows we’ve long denied are utterly laid bare. Falsified selves of our own making are wholly exposed.
There is nowhere to hide. But strangely, we’re not afraid.
And then, there is the faintest of smiles on your lips. You recognize us completely – down to the very core of our being. We gasp in amazement.
It is YOU after all.
Your breathing labored, you lurch forward and then, pause. But your head does not turn back. Instead, your gaze is unwavering. Though the anguished road before you uncoils its tortured path, it is the road you must travel. It is the way.
Looking down at my feet, I do my best to coax them forward.
Now that you have seen me, where else can I go?
Thank you for this beautiful and moving reflection.
As a fellow writer, thank you, Debra, for affirming the work that we do.
Thank you so much for sending me forward into tomorrow … into the future.
Your own light-infused writing has guided me on countless occasions, Maren. Thank you.