Grief

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes waste away from grief, my soul and body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away. Psalm 31:9-10





It breaks my heart
To see your heart break
Tears overflowing
For one we love
Who has lost his way for a time.

This aching does not go away
Does not resolve easily, but
Simmers deep down.
I try to hold it together.
One of us needs to,
Or so I think.

We watch him
Stumble,
Repeat mistakes
And wonder to ourselves
If this will ever change.

At times we cling to hope,
This time, surely this time
He understands,
He will move on,
He will take that step forward.

But, it is only the baby steps
We can truly hope for -
While we agonize over
The larger steps going backward.
Yet we are still there,
Aching for him and at the same time
Cheering him on.

God, you know our sorrow
And pain.
Is this how you see us -
As children taking baby steps forward
And giant steps back?

Do you cry for us, God?

Do you cheer us on?