Who do I believe in
and what need I do?
Can I believe without the evidence
that every word agrees
and every miracle is proved?
Must my prayers be triumphant
and I be pure
before my hopes be true?
Need my faith stand without
support for my frail and doubting humanity?
Am I able to receive
without working for worthiness
allowing my troubled soul to be adored by You,
the One who hears my heartcry?
Can I rest in Your love, and,
letting go of my expectations,
simply allow You to be?
Am I able to believe in You
as you are,
giving you the right of revelation
without interpretations of my own?
And,
can I answer every question with one word;
Grace.

grace is humble sight
for the mirror is clear,
no gloss or excuses,
stripped of justifications,
grace covers our nakedness

grace is full of light
for our life is exposed,
open and uncovered.
no explanations
grace answers our honesty.

grace is the healer,
and the story may be told,
fearless, courageous
no hesitations
grace enables our liberation.

my story is not my own
it is married to love
my pain is not alone
it is shared by a world of broken lives
and the heaven of the broken heart.

Grace is.

To love is life's greatest goal.
being loved, it's greatest treasure.
but loved by God,
the greatest wonder of all.

I have stood by the garden tomb,
I have seen the place of the skull
I have walked your path of sorrows
and prayed at the wailing wall.
I've been baptised in the Jordan river
walked by the Sea of Galilee
stood at the foot of the mountain
where you shone brighter than the sun.
I have heard the voices of thousands
sing the power and the glory of your name
I've been on my knees in adoration
my hands lifted high with your praise.
I have walked the dark streets of evil
I have cursed with words black as coal
my mind has plotted rebellion
and encouraged my friends do the same.
my heart is a nightmare within me
my fists have exploded in rage
my humanity stalks death beside me
my grave has called out my name.

beyond all I have seen
said, done and heard
beyond every footstep,
every thought, every word,
beyond life that's finite
finished and dead
beyond every secret
or insult that's said
your life rises with hope
absorbing our worst
love conquers evil
grace covers all.
your life rises above me
whilst I'm stricken in shame
I look to your heavens
and call out your name

we pen our songs of undying love
pledging our lives in faithful service
yet we miss the miracle
of your love and service
for us.
where is the miracle in my love for you?
what is the extravagance of my heart
compared to the universe
and even beyond?
All in all, it still fails to contain you.
we pray for the miraculous
whilst blind to eternity
washing our feet.
You can walk on the water
and still the storm,
you can heal the sick
and raise the dead to life
but all this is a trifle
compared to your love
inside my heart.
Your love for me
is the wonder of the cosmos.
It is the hope between my every breath
and it is all too wonderful
for words.

Lord of the broken heart
come tell me your tale.
let me into your anguish
your love and our nails.

Lord of the troubled soul
please speak of your pain
when your friends turned their backs
not one did remain.

Lord of the ungrateful
remind me of all
whose suffering is greater
than my prideful fall.

Lord of acceptance
my nakedness is real
cast off and alone
you know how I feel

hope is far greater
love is far deeper
grace is far sweeter
our pain is in you

we live with the eternal
existing whilst earth bound,
waking with our senses
fixed firmly to the ground.

the heavens stretch above us
if we dare to change our view
we may catch a glimpse of fullness
as we pause a second or two.

but restless are our struggles,
we wrestle with this dust
that marks our day to dayness
"obligations", "should" and "must".

to walk this life so tethered
the finite that we share,
deaf to words that ageless
beckon us to care,

our souls, no wonder, weary
leave hearts to set in stone
we wander through our twilight
scared, withdrawn, alone.

I will loose my rigid seeing
from steps that I could take
and choose another aspect
my senses to awake

untangled from the finite
liberated from dulled time,
I shall see the sky above me
surreal, sublime, surprised.



so let the will of grace, mercy, love and life be done on this earth
as it has always been;
above, below and around us all.