DARK HOURS OF DELIGHT

(Psalm 149:4)

You rejoice at invitations to our moments in Your sun.

Your eyes twinkle when fledgling parents

place their blessed bundles

in Your safekeeping.

Your head nods when a nervous father of the bride

and a tearful mother of the groom

request the honor of Your presence

in the marriage of his daughter to her son.

But Your delight does not always wear a smile.

Sometimes, You, on-call in a heartbeat,

dress for despair —

to calm frantic parents pacing living room floors

over runaway children,

to heal those who cry out Your name

from the shadows of hospital rooms,

to hear pleas from husbands and wives

who seek Your guidance

after a storm,

to enfold new widows and widowers

who weep twilight tears alone

in lonely houses.

During those darkest hours, Your delight is not in our grief alone

but that we shared it with You.

** Kim Kathleen Terry **