Step back.

Just take a step back and remember.

Remember life.

Remember simplicity.

Remember beauty.

Stop and take a step back.

Let yourself breathe.

And allow yourself to be moved by what you see.

The demands of existence crash over you,

Tossing you too and fro, every which way the wind may blow.

But you’ve got to fight back.

Resisting the constant attack of distraction. Or empty fullness. Or faux life.

Stop and take a step back.

There is life to be lived in the midst of the kingdom coming,

But when we can only see the darkness closing in,

Hope retreats and we’re left in hopeless wallowing.

The presence of darkness threatens your termination,

Swallowing life and ushering in discouragement.

But call for it’s extermination.

An obligatory evacuation.

It has no place here.

For there is no one as lucky or free as you.

No one as lucky or free.

You walk confidently in the mystery of existence, of thriving.

This life is full of beauty and truth,

But when we close our eyes, of course we see nothing but dark sludge caking every beautiful thing.

So open them.

Take a step back.

And allow your eyes to adjust.

To see the beauty radiating beneath the musty layer of grime.

To see that the darkness could never control the light.

There is only one hope, and as distant as it sounds,

That is utter and total dependence on Christ.