by Ken Sehested
DO WHAT YOU DO,
when you need to do it,
where you do it,
how you do it,
with whom you do it,
for whatever reason and
whatever manner you do it,
oblivious to both promise of reward
and threat of punishment,
neither heaven nor hell,
WITH NEITHER MALICE NOR CONCEIT,
foreswearing hate for enemies
no less than pride of companions,
in strong days and weak,
hard times and favorable,
rain or shine,
in famine and in feast,
with surge of courage or
barely-disguised trembling,
in Arabic, Hebrew or English,
ABSENT ANY MOTIVE DERIVED
from guilt or righteousness,
perceiving no one as beyond
the radius of Heaven’s reach,
foreswearing both optimism and pessimism,
innocence and fault,
whether imprisoned or free,
letting your heart take you where
your feet fear to tread,
your hands are slow to touch,
your voice shiveringly hesitant,
BEARING NO BURDEN FROM YESTERDAY,
clutching no outcome for tomorrow,
remembering all the while that
it is not you doing it at all
(you get no extra cookies)
but the One to Whom all yesterdays
and every tomorrow belongs,
trusting only the Promise made from afar
and Assurance given for the future,
WHOSE PRESENCE NOW
is all that is needed,
in confidence that nothing important
can be taken from you
nor more delightful achieved,
for the One whose Occupation
will make room for all in the land,
each under their own vine and fig tree,
none to make them afraid:
tears dried,
apart-hate abated,
death itself enjoined.
THAT ONE DRAWS NEAR EVEN NOW
if you have eyes to see:
hidden in the shadows,
eluding every security measure,
breaching every separation wall,
dusty-shoed, unkempt hair,
commonplace face, plainly clad;
the One unveiled in the countenance
of unsung angels
whom the mighty deride,
the One who shields from
detainment’s constant threat.
THIS WILL BE
their undoing; and yet,
having come undone,
will themselves
be freed.
Recall the blessing
pronounced at your departure:
THERE WILL BE TIMES
when you feel the urge
to keep your head down, but
you know to do so would cause you
to miss important things.
And then there are times when
you really do need
to keep your head down.
UNFORTUNATELY, LEARNING
the difference between the two usually
involves making mistakes
as to which is which.
Hopefully, none that are fatal,
but there are no guarantees.
Just trust that you will,
in the end,
receive what you most need.
©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org