Safe!
A fast dash and a slide
“Safe” the umpire roars
With a gleeful moment of self-satisfaction, you stand up and brush yourself off and settle in for a few breaths at third base.
Home is in sight, and yet far away.
It feels both like a guarantee and a big leap of faith to believe it will actually happen.
The last week of Lent before Palm Sunday and Holy Week.
Both resurrection in sight and knowing that the way ahead includes dying before rising
Where have we been on this Lenten journey?
Through the ashes of initiation
Into the desert of self-reflection
Around the corner into a new groove
Experiencing the present moment in the next step of the labyrinth
and here – now – on the homestretch
Heart cracked open
able to see the clutter that has clouded vision
willing to make the change in this day
exercising the muscle of compassion towards another — again
listening without defensive deafness
apologizing for how I said it, not what I said
being willing to let the heart be cracked open
“Create a clean heart in me, O God” (Ps 51)
Not one with a scorecard of past tournaments
or one cluttered with attachments to resentments of what might have happened.
“Create a clean heart in me, O God”(Ps 51)
Not one with a storehouse of what might be needed
or protection from the climate of “not enough” and risks not taken
Where the cracked open heart leaves room for You
to plant the seeds and my job is to nourish and keep the weeds out
“Create a clean heart in me, O God”(Ps 51)
So that the homestretch is one of emergence,
willing to be the shoot that pushes through the frozen earth
Happy Last Week of Lent before Holy Week.
Glad we made it “Safe” this far.
…waiting for the next pitch…
“Batter UP”
See you in the dugout!
Bridget
