Okay, Lord. I'm ready.

I sat on the bus the other day, text book in my lap, reading scholarly words about the Prophets, thinking about Ezekiel, thinking about coffee, wondering if I should have brought my umbrella.

A man boarded the bus, snapping his pearl snaps as he walked to his seat. I noticed something under his shirt just before he turned around to sit down.

The most obvious assumption for what he concealed would have been a back brace for a job that required heavy lifting. But my first thought was, "bomb."

I'm posting over at Deeper Story today, head over there to read the rest of this post.

hold me

Tonight the longing for Home is thick, catching in my throat as I try to swallow.

Tears well up suddenly, and I am caught off guard.

Tonight I feel the fragility of this life. Tonight I feel His hand around my heart, causing each and every beat.

As air fills my lungs I taste the breath He blows into my nostrils and feel it rush down my throat.

I wonder how this skin, stretched thin over bone and muscle, does not tear. Tonight it feels so thin, barely the protective barrier it is intended to be.

And I am reminded that each beat, each breath is Yours, is by Your will.

This skin protects me because You wrap Yourself around me, because You keep me from harm.

Hold me closer.

Hold me tighter.