The good news is that everything is forgiven
—everything.
—Steve Garnaas-Holmes, “Erased”

“Amen,” you said,
and you believed it.
You taught it,
preached it,
and blogged about it.
“I can love myself just the way I am
–warts and all–
because that’s the way God loves me,”
you said,
and you believed it.

You put all your eggs in My basket.

Then life dropped you
into a dark valley.
Sure enough,
I was there as promised.
You found yourself
enfolded in My prodigal embrace.
saved from My judgment

but not from theirs.

I forgave you
before you made the turn
but the forgiveness of others?

That may take a while,
may not come at all
and that’s so damned painful.

I wish I could save you from
the doubts that emerge
the fears that get validated
the pain of rejection

I can’t save you from that
but I can walk with you
through this shadowed valley.
Surely goodness and mercy
won’t be far behind.

Trust me.
You put all your eggs
in the right basket.

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son,
threw his arms around him and kissed him.
–Luke 15:20 (NIV)

∗ ∗ ∗

Love Mischief for the World

We don’t walk alone through dark valleys. God comes to us with skin on. This week a friend of mine passed away surrounded by friends and family. They walked with her in that dark valley, listened to her fears, celebrated her life, and sat with her as she found the door to the other side where there is no more pain, no more regrets, no more tears of sadness.

I am grateful for friends who walk with us through our dark valleys of pain, tears and doubt and keep loving us just the way we are.

What love mischief are you and God doing for the world?
Let me know and I will include it in an upcoming post.

Credits and References:
“The Difficult Path” by Crusty Da Klown. Used with permission.
“The Return of the Prodigal Son by Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Batoni, 1708-1787. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“Friendship” by Rainier Martin Ampongan. Used with permission.

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2022.
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013-2022.  http://www.estherhizsa.com