All Who Wonder

All who wonder are not lost
unless you count being found by God
as the total loss of control it truly is.

When fear gives way to curiosity,
all hope for individuation flies
the way of first naiveté.

But oh, the joy of life unleashed
when, held in God's mysterious palm,
we uncork life's champagne questions!

The who and how of our connection
weaves intergenerational tapestry
as universal quilt of hope.

Me and thee, thou and I
become the "us" of universe,
things used, people loved.

Grain, grape, water morph
from ordinary, daily sustenance
to sacramental grace.

World shrinks without claustrophobia,
stories blend without conflict,
love wins without suffocating.

© 2011 Todd Jenkins

Heartbeat

Somewhere a life terminates:

flatline silence, electrical neutrality.

With that ending, family, friends

bid farewell, raw grief protrudes.

How, in that cold, dark pall

can strangers ask for life,

can mourners think, feel beyond self?

Only God knows this answer.

Years of academic, clinical preparation,

teams of seamless precision

pour out methodical passion,

battling time’s incessant beat.

Who’s to say what connections weave

when one body merges with another,

one family’s loss becomes another’s gain?

Time’s passing may reveal glimpses.

Have you ever stopped to consider

how this mirrors resurrection;

just might represent the way

God intends universe to function?

© 2011 Todd Jenkins

Eradication

Prayer for Eradication

(For all whose health is threatened by infection and illness.)

Promised Land holds many gifts,

perfect health not among them.

Homeland, however distant and inadequate,

prepared our bodies to fend-off

only native strains of illness.

Exodus always exposes

the charade of our self-sufficiency,

threatens to overwhelm us with its newness,

its uniquely configured DNA,

its cornucopia of germs and viruses.

Hold us, O God of liberation,

in your strong but tender hand,

bring wisdom, love, science,

three of your holy graces,

to bear upon our small, frail bodies.

Move life-giving water to its intended place,

out of lungs and into other tissue,

hydrating us and leaving room for

your spirit-guided breath to animate,

inspire us to new life in you.

© 2011 Todd Jenkins