Every Woman a Theologian
— Hope, Seated Next to Grief —
 
Image item
Dear friend,
 
I had a plan for this week's newsletter, but some circumstances of our life made it impossible to follow through on the grandiose words I could have written. Instead, here are a few poems I'm thinking about these days. They are poems written in another season, but applicable to this one. I hope they meet you were you are.
 
The “Hope” piece, in particular, is one I turn to often – the image of hope laughing next to grief, like two members of a dinner party, is vivid in my mind's eye. This is not only due to our present circumstances but because much of life is lived in that tension. 
 
They say grief is love;
love bewildered, love stopped short of its destination.
 
Where does grief go for people of resurrection?
It cannot rest in empty words;
it will not abide pithy platitudes.
You try to prepare for it
but nothing prepares you for a missing face in photos
or when they don’t come waving out from the barn.
There is no hardening to such an absence—
carved out, hollowed deep.
Even hope-filled hollows hurt.
Even resurrection requires death.
Even Jesus wept at the tomb.
 
So to grieve with hope
a love with nowhere to go
must meet the Love that will not let us go,
and there, so slowly,
the grieving heart
finds final home.

They Say Grief is Love, PDM
 
We asked for complete wholeness
and you chose to give it
the way we did not want.
Standing graveside was not in our plans or prayers,
but here we worship—
because wholeness was accomplished
and healing is complete.

We Asked for Healing, PDM
 
Hope can live and breathe at a dinner table
seated next to grief
and laugh, somehow, at the future
while weeping
at the present.

Hope, PDM
 
Image item
 
Unsettled
and tired of this glass house—
I wonder: how fair is it
to call one to speak an
uncomfortable truth
to people with stones in their hands?
But then, I suppose
bravery has little dealing in fairness,
virtue is not birthed in safety,
and glass houses glow,
visible for miles.
 
Glass House, PDM
 
Image item
 

 
 
 
Popular Products 

 
 
Image item
 
Five Truths to Hold Onto

  • God's goodness is not dependent on His “yes”. Sometimes the answer to a prayer is “no” or “not yet” (we often perceive this as a non-answer because we don't like it), but no is an answer, and God is good even if He does not stop something or give what we want in that moment. There is so much more He is doing in this world, and in our hearts, that we are not aware of. 
  • The Word of God applies in every season, but we have to show up to it to reap the benefits.
  • Miracles still happen, often in very small ways. We must ask with boldness and keep our eyes open to see God's hand. And in between miracles, we can rest in the character of God, because He is more than signs and wonders.
  • In painful times, He is the God of all Comfort, acquainted with grief. Earth is not heaven; we will experience pain here, and that doesn't mean God has left us. He has instead promised to be with us in the pain.
  • God uses prayer to change the world. It was His sovereign choice to use prayer as the vehicle for transforming His people. Pray, pray, pray. And open your eyes to the answers.
 
Image item
 
When you're ready, here are four ways I can help you….

 
for the awakening,
Phylicia
 
 
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Podcast
Tiktok