For the Son of Man comes to save the lost…

Matthew 18:2-14 KJV
[2] And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, [3] And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. [4] Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. [5] And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. [6] But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. [7] Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! [8] Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. [9] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. [10] Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. [11] For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. [12] How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? [13] And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. [14] Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Beagles, Babies, and “Became”

Isaiah 46:12-13 KJV
[12] Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: [13] I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

This week there was an assault on a farm in Wisconsin that raises beagles for research purposes because they “are trusting, loyal, and easy to handle.”

In England, two men are on trial for unspeakable abuse of a baby they adopted then abused to death.

Jesus became the embodiment of unspeakable horror to pay for unspeakable pain. He bore our sins then bore the holy wrath of God.

He became the sacrificial beagle for the sacrificed baby.

When the minor griefs of my quotidian life hit me hard in my chest, I have to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. I have to tell Him that I cannot fathom the depths of the horror He endured for this broken, afflicted, heartbroken world.

The wrath of a Righteous God

For the broken beagle

For the broken baby

For the broken-hearted

He is coming back soon

Clothed in Light

The rain came down all day, in a dry and thirsty place

The rivers and gullies rose, brooked banks, flowed, opaque with runoff, to the sea

The little girl felt the weight of it all, no running across the bridge, no looking for turtles and treasury things

The kitchen dance party helped, and the toasted sandwiches

Thank you, God, for the gentle rain, the dappled night, and Dollar Tree ponchos

Which make us all shimmer like apparitions as we walk the dogs through, dark, light, shadow, puddles you can kick up into arcs with your bread roll clogs

Puddles so deep and wide a girl can see her own reflection in them

Reflection of Him (who made the water, who calls the rain)

Who calls us all to shine like this all the time

In the wedding clothes of Light

(Revelation 22

Central Texas)

She says

“That was too short!“

I tell her that it would have been longer if

She had been quiet faster

Will you write another one if I am quiet? She asks

Hard to, nay impossible to,

Say no

Beautiful mockingbird

Origami daughters

Their hair ribbons of color and light like their mothers

Were-are-will be

nothing shall be impossible”

Wind! Birds! Mockingbird! Mother!

He is

The wind that shakes the trees, lifts the wings

Heals the world

(John chapter 3–all of it!)

The Persistent Song

Like the scent of evocative perfume

The words lift across

Street in the heart

Of a town named for a long-shot Gospel writer

Words about finding love and fish in the oceans

Surprisingly geographically specific

Pacific Ocean…Indian Ocean

These similes for lost love

A thin, reedy, fearless voice

Neon lights

Somethings are lost in the now

Known only to the One who sees

The not yet the will be

Impossibles come true

One day we will all know

The words

The Dark House

I have not thought about the dark house in years.

There were roads not taken—a house in the woods, a beautiful Victorian with no yard, a dog-less condo.

When you are old you realize how much you did badly

So many regrets.

But not the landlady, not the note, not the conversation between the nice neighbor and the petulant four year old

Defiant on the roof of the porch when she should have been sleeping

Later, much later, she would sleep when she should have been

Defiant on the porch of the house

I pray the time machine prayer

Dear God, permeate the darkness, the loneliness, the horror, the nightmare, the hell the children went through

Let them sing in the courts of the Temple of God

Hosanna, hosanna in the highest!!

Why should God let you into Heaven?

The spooky looking woman stood in the cold storage room of a thousand embryo banks

Wild-haired

Wild-eyed

Barely human

Trying to teach the little ones the answer-

Why should He let us in?

For God so

Loved the

World

That He gave

His One and Only

Begotten Son

That whosoever

Believes in Him (Yeshua)

Should not…

Perish…lose the ticket…be barred from admission…let go of his hand..forget his face…let their pride conquer Truth

But have Eternal Life

Letters to fosters

The little girl was in her elementary school class when she encountered another student

You a foster?

I’m a foster!

She said it with joy and enthusiasm, like it was secret society of children with super powers

Which it is, actually

You are Superheroic

You are survivors

Thrive

Tell your story

I am here and I am listening

Isaiah 49:19-23 NIV
[19] “Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away. [20] The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.’ [21] Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these—where have they come from?’ ” [22] This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips. [23] Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed. ”

Isaiah 49:22-23 KJV
[22] Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. [23] And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord : for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.