'Poem for the week' -- "A Slippery Slope":
I can feel an unfamiliar inclination to cynicism growing with the weight of recent days,
and I know it is a stumbling block to my worship.
The beating heart of my being is belief
that you are always graciously giving
and, in so doing,
restoratively drawing all things to your center.
Cynicism is a protective barrier
and a clean means of categorization—
but it insulates me from the earthy richness of your mercy.
Tilt my heart’s inclination again,
that I might joyfully slide into the grass and gravel of your goodness.
May delight be definitive,
may I work in wonder,
and may my life sing—
above the beating war drums of commodity, competition and carelessness—
that all is gift.
Amen.
-- Emily Cash, Driftwood Prayers