Within the hues of green shoots 

and the dancing sunbeam's graceful rays

between those sparks, of your love, O God,

that shaped us

while still in our mother's womb

between that hope we have faithfully held

and our today

lies crushed expectations.

 

Yet more than those hopes shaped us

much more makes up this flesh and bone

this mind and matter

of

who

and what

we are

 

what we can

and will be.

 

Within this frame you abide

within this fragility you find your home

within this unknowing you know as we are fully known.

 

Hope deep 

like green shoots 

waiting to rise from within the grain

waits

and waits... for the time

your time.

 

In the beginning You looked,

and saw all as good.

Yet, what is good about death and fear,

pained hearts and empty days?

What good is there in journey

without end in sight,

filled with the ancient cry:

are we there yet?

 

The valley is deep and dark, O God

but darkness is not dark to you.

We join with our ancestors

Their pleading echoing in our souls

 

How long?

O Lord,

how long?

 

We trust

you grow within our laments

nurturing our longings with

promises of a better future

rooted in the green shoots of

your eternal love

there in the beginning

and for eternity.