Choosing to See

Set firmly within the comfort zone of all I have known,

I rest within the rhythm of the lapping waves

A single glowing candle illuminates the darkness

But the light of the candle cannot penetrate beyond the walls of the ship

Crash! The thunder rumbles and the lightning strikes

For a moment I can see beyond the horizon

But to step even further into the light

I must endure the tempest and the destruction of my safety net

Overwhelmed by the waves and the darkness,

The flashes of lightning give me the strength to hold on

As glimpses of the land beyond my reckoning

Allow me to see beyond the destruction of this vessel,

And as the wreckage of the ship sinks beneath the waves around me,

I tread water awaiting the rescue I foresaw in lightning’s flash

Behold! I am coming soon!

And I will be able to see in greater measure,

Come and know me better, man!

Yet I wonder now if I will make it to the vision that I’ve seen,

For now there is nothing between me and the raging, roiling seas,

And the storm has not yet abated,

Winds and waves and thunder’s crashing,

Surely I am not stronger than the ship that once protected me,

Surely I cannot withstand this quickening if the vessel that was once safety to me

Is now sunk beneath the waters

And there in the darkness,

I begin to succumb to the cold, harsh circumstances of life,

Slipping beneath one wave after the next,

Surfacing just long enough to take in

Half a breath of hope,

Until finally I slip entirely beneath the surface of the water

Surrounded entirely by darkness, destruction, and death,

I fully embrace the loss of all things,

And in so doing, I begin to move about in the water,

Kicking, I drive myself further down into the darkness

Until I realize I am actually swimming toward the surface,

And in breaking forth from the ashes,

Upside down from all I’ve ever known,

I see that the dawn has come,

The storm has cleared,

And I can now see farther than I’ve ever seen before

And He who was Promised now shows Himself to me,

Reaching His hand out to bring me fully to the surface,

We stand

On the water together as One,

No longer needing the ship for safety

As We have found this safety in each other,

In Our Love

Now We walk on the water together,

Not limited by the rigid walls of ships of doctrine,

But able to go into all places and times

And see all things,

Know all things,

Be all things:

Only ever Yahweh

And who knew that in choosing to see,

I would choose such destruction and despair?

But I have learned to value the darkness now as much as the light,

And for that I am grateful.