Devotional 3-17-08

Scripture readings are included in the following poem, italicized.

God Walks with us Tonight
The man sat huddled in the doorway,
Wrapped in a ragged blanket,
Cold in body.
Cold in spirit.
His stomach empty
but his mind filled with regret.
He had no home but this doorway,
No friends,
No hope.
He cried out to God.

Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold
I have come into deep water,
and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying
My throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God. (Psalm 69:1-3)

The woman crouched beside her car
leaning on the fender
as if proximity to the flat tire
would bring it back to life.
She was alone, at night
She was alone, in life.
She couldn't call her husband,
because the scent of another man
hung in the car,
and she knew it.
Cold in body,
Cold in spirit,
She cried out to God.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:1-2)

The woman jerked as a hand
Cold and heavy
Landed on her shoulder.
He said, "I'll fix the tire for you."
Desperation won out over fear;
she opened the trunk,
and he set to work.
He found peace in finally making a difference
in someone else's life.
She found grace she had never experienced
because some else cared.

Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and
the God of all consolation,
who consoles us in our affliction,
so that we may be able to console
those who are in any affliction
with the consolation with which
we ourselves are consoled by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

When he was finished,
she thanked him,
and gave him a blanket
that had been stored in her trunk.
She offered him money,
which he took.
As he did,
he touched her hand,
and said, "Stop crying;
go home.
God walks with both of us tonight."

Kim Matthews