life changing words

there are words strung together
in such beauty
in such a way
they touch secret places
of pain so deep
they have had no words
they almost don’t exist
they are so deep
so shadowy scarred and twisted
so nameless I can’t acknowledge them
because they might possibly be ghosts, or demons
and why would I disturb alien creatures,
when there is quite enough pain
right here in plain sight
to try to heal and deal with?

until these thoughts appear,
shadows become real,
in these words of another
because the other
has felt
has written
has sung
has wrestled and wrangled with
this too
and the words they have mined
from these dark, broken quarries
touch that wispy, pain-filled place
inside of me
with delicate fingers
and declare they are so,
and make them alright,
binding and healing
my broken bones
my hidden stab wounds
my almost too pain-filled to be real
merely by sharing them
and my soul says, aha!
and the roses in my heart
turn from blush to deepest crimson
and birds come and rest in these trees,
which declare every moment that
Yahweh is always gracious,
and the morning wakes up
new and alive
and love burns seven times hotter
than I ever thought possible
and I count gift after gift
of never-before-seen riches at my fingertips
as I step into a life
that matters
because I am beloved
because I understand myself better
and the meaning of,
It is what it is,
and,
the truth shall set you free
become my praise songs
because I am
with every word
and I grin and say,
You aren’t much,
and I belly laugh
because it is true
and I laugh even harder because,
truth is also,
I am everything I need to be
hallelujah
glory be!

AL 8/12/13

a special thank you to my favorite writers today! So very grateful for words written and shared!
Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Mary Oliver, Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Kathy Galloway, Wendell Berry, Walt Whitman, Paulo Coelho, Ann Voskamp, Mark Buchanan, Kyle Idleman, Henri Nouwen, Brennan Manning, John O’Donohue, Audrey Assad, Janet Paschal, and so many, many others who have touched and inspired me over the years…these are exceptional amazing, inspiring people of words! Thank you for your gifts to me!