#Living Psalm 1_ Mankin for Feb 16, 2025

This is not your grave!
Get yourself up
 and go out into the world -

we have things to do,
people to loudly love,
bigotry to oppress 
with truth and joy.

We have protests to join,
money to vote with,
voices we can raise
again and again.

Every day, there will be 
a thousand tiny choices 
we must make to fan the flames 
of hope into an inferno

because we have no choice.
This is not a grave.
It is a dust storm,
a terrible passing moment
when hatred and wickedness
and fear creeps out to test us.

And they will test us -
our patience, our resistance,
our belief that this too shall pass -
until the fear of failure and pain
grows heavy enough to plague our dreams.

We will get tired.
We will be scared. 
We will ask ourselves
if any of this matters,
and we might even lie down
where it’s cool and dark

until God whispers
Stand up, beloved.
This is not your grave.

Until God puts your hand in mine,
and wraps us together -
always together -  bound
together with glorious Love.