jackson (1-7-87)

canyon

standing at the base of the canyon

looking up

how immense the walls

towering far above

and how deep the floor

dark and hopeless

it seems an impossible climb

out of this pit of sadness

groaning and despair

how can i possibly reach the other side

where life can continue

once again?

how can i do this?

i cry into the chasm

how can i do this?

it just doesn’t seem possible

i need someone

who knows the way

through the pain and darkness

the despair and loneliness

back to life again

who could possibly know the way?

only one who has been there

who has been to the depths

and made it back alive

only one who has seen rock bottom

and survived even still

i need someone who knows the way

and can walk beside me

through the darkest night

back into the light again

only you can offer hope

you alone

hold the possibility

that in spite of all the pain

life can one day begin again

only you can offer hope

that the canyon rim

can someday be reached

only you know the way

so reach down

from on high

and take hold

of this broken heart

reach down

to the bottom of this abyss

and lift me up

take me

in your strong and tender arms

and make my shattered life

whole once again

P.S. I wrote this years and years ago in the midst of some of the deepest groaning I could ever imagine.  And as I read it again, 25 years later,  I realize that you do eventually get to the other side of the canyon; life does return to "normal" again, but it is an entirely "new normal" as one of my dear friends, who knows the depths of the groan, likes to say.  What stands out to me most on this side of it all...is gratitude.  I am so incredibly grateful for the gift of our few days together...and what God did in me (us) as a result.