By Michael W. Raley
O how the body aches,
O how the heart breaks,
When you realize
That the dream has died.
All of the work, love, faith, and hope you planted as seeds
Has become a harvest of drought and weeds.
We shrug it off as not meant to be or not part of a plan,
Neither of which bring us comfort nor understanding.
Time will go on and somehow so will we,
Keeping our distance and remaining skeptical and leery.
The sacrifice and pain came at such a high cost
That it will take time to get over this loss.
However, some wounds will never heal
As we may become bitter about our raw deal.
Some things we will never get over, with the burden on our shoulders.
We perceive ourselves to be destined like Sisyphus, pushing a boulder,
Only to have it roll down the hill again.
Or consider Job, who sought an audience with God and an explanation,
Only to be pelted with unanswerable question after unanswerable question.
Yes, Job’s family and fortunes were restored,
But why did he have to go through all of that before?
We must hold on to the loved ones and days which remain,
In spite of the sorrow and pain.
We must embrace today’s second chance,
For as Aurelius said, we are meant to wrestle with this life and not dance.
Triumphant In Christ 