And all the while

Let me not be disappointed,
sour,
desolate …

and all the while you love me.

Do not let me break apart,
fracture into hard-hearted fragments
of my former self …

and all the while you heal me.

Draw me to yourself.
Let me find my beauty, my meaning, my goodness
in you.
Let me kneel down sorrowing for all the penny-pinching
ways I find to stop saying yes to the call
to love, to give, to walk the mile …

and all the while you believe in me.

Do not let my enemies triumph.
Do not let the darkness have the last word.
Come Holy Spirit, revive me.
Come Holy Spirit, release me.
Come Holy Spirit, pour your balm of consolation
over all that cries out for healing …

and all the while you lead me.