I need poetry in my life

I regularly follow The Writer's Almanac. Partly because I'm the nerdy sort who likes reading small bits of info and stories about writers, books, etc. But also because I need poetry in my life. Poems help me slow down and read carefully. They make me pay attention and look more closely. And often, poetry says something my soul needs to hear. This was today's poem:

Trust
Thomas R. Smith

It's like so many other things in life
to which you must say no or yes.
So you take your car to the new mechanic.
Sometimes the best thing to do is trust.

The package left with the disreputable-looking
clerk, the check gulped by the night deposit,
the envelope passed by dozens of strangers—
all show up at their intended destinations.

The theft that could have happened doesn't.
Wind finally gets where it was going
through the snowy trees, and the river, even
when frozen, arrives at the right place.

And sometimes you sense how faithfully your life
is delivered, even though you can't read the address.

What God has made clean...

Last night, Curtis led our Friday night Rhythm gathering (weekly dinner/worship/prayer together). I got to lend a hand in both the planning and the leading of an awesome evening exploring how God can move and work in unexpected places, based on the story of Cornelius' conversion in Acts 10. We included the kids in a spontaneous dramatic reading of the story, then explored dance, art, and poetry as places we might find God. The evening concluded with everyone collaborating to write a responsive sort of poem/prayer. Chris posted about it here on our community blog, so I'll link instead of re-posting the text. Go check it out... it was an awesome collaborative effort responding to God about our evening!

One of the things I'm most passionate about is finding glimpses of God in the arts, so last night's worship and subsequent conversations were awesome. Coming off a week where I got to lead a book discussion on Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible (finally incorporating some fiction into our NC book discussions!), and am looking ahead to more movie and book discussions with my "Art of Soul" group, I'm pretty fired up right now about the intersection of my love for the arts with ministry and worship. Good stuff.

Art is the lie that makes us realize the truth.
—Pablo Picasso