King Shalom
A poem anchoring me to home as the world melts (with emojis ☀️🌊🏔🦬🌧️ 🏠︎🌿)
I look to you
Oh King of Justice
Who allows ancient glaciers to crack
☀️ The harsh sun to beat down on us
& The bowl of the ocean to overflow 🌊
I will not forget
Oh King of Shalom
Bedazzled crystal lakes still mirror majesty
🏔🏔🏔 Steepled peaks stand righteous and proud
& Beneath them a remnant of buffalo roam 🦬
🌧️ You reign over both the just and the unjust
And yet you know you’re where I've made my home 🏠︎
I wait on you,
Oh King of Restoration
As I invariably plant seeds of peace
🌿 Cultivating with light, close besides you
& Nestled within your movements as your kingdom is born 🪺
"In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike."
Matthew 5:45 NLT
This poem was written lamenting the glacier collapse that wiped out the Swiss town of Blatten last week, the droughts/fires we’ve experienced, and looking at the lines where the sea might take over downtown San Diego in the next fifty+ years. Also, just seeing the meltdown between protests and the government in nearby L.A., another injustice to lament.
On the flip-side, the wild images of Yellowstone National Park, Buffalo, and the clear lakes reflecting the Grand Tetons stand in such contrast to the deterioration of nature. Even the bison—who were largely wiped out because of people in the U.S.—are still free to roam as a remnant in the heaven-like land we had the pleasure of marveled at last summer.1
Preservation gives us a smudged window to view eternity.
I hope this poem helps name your grief and anchors you back to the hope we have in the King of Shalom, in restoration. In the meantime, join me in bringing heaven to earth and planting seeds of peace.
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