daily

"two things i ask of You, o Lord; do not refuse me before i die: keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. otherwise i may have too much and disown You and say, 'who is the Lord?' or i may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God."
[proverbs 30]

just enough
keeps me depending on You.

this side of the second coming of Jesus
i know
that the only hope that i have of riches
is the contented trust that paul talks about
because the real riches
lie in the hope of glory
that's ahead of us
the hope of rest - final and complete
the hope of joy - full and everlasting
the hope of love - fully realized

we don't know now what we do not yet have
as we find all of our delight in a single day that has gone well
a relationship that is promising
a bill that is paid
a meal that was successful
a week of 5 good workouts

the smallest taste
the faintest whisper
the most momentary thought
a vanishing mist
a single breath

it is a gift to be reminded so very often
that this life alone holds no promise for anything better.

another winter of helplessness
snuck up like each of the last
as each task demands twice the energy,
twice the grace, twice the discipline
like the taskmaster that demands more of the slave
than seems humanly possible
and like the pharaoh that asks the hebrews for
more bricks but offers them no more straw

winter, the taskmaster
my Father, the strength to go on

He gives just enough for the next step
He walks me through one day at a time
and i'll never be able to say this of anyone else
He is all, He's in all, He is faithful
always

even when i have to tell myself that it is true
because Truth is
even when feeling isn't