Sunday, July 8, 2012

Grafted

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord." (Ephesians 2:19-21)

Lord,
I am old enough,
And have experienced enough
Of Your Saving Grace
To know when not to question
The way things happen,
Or the reason behind them.

The archer -
First spotted at Mountain View,
Singing with the rest of the
Blued-robed choir members.
I made eye contact with her
Several times during that first service,
But was too homesick for New Utrecht
To pay attention to much else.

I told Adalheid I was not going back.

She told me to go back.

I went back.

I crashed choir practice the following Wednesday,
And that same girl
Who had made eye contact with me
Introduced herself to me.
Someone else invited me to
Wednesday night post-choir-practice pizza.
I told them I would attend
Once I officially joined the choir after Easter.

I am not in Arizona four months yet.
During these initial, transitional months,
I have found myself drawn to the archer.
Perhaps it is our NYC connection.
Perhaps it is our mutual love of music.
Perhaps it is our warped senses of humor.
Whatever it may be,
I have been slowly, imperceptibly gravitating to her,
And have been slowly, imperceptibly
Pulling her into my household's orbit.

Like a farmer's grafting,
I see her rapidly becoming comfortable
With the frankness of Adalheid,
The off-handedness of the king,
The craziness of the wandering momma,
And the antics of a house that has
More pets than people. 
When she sits at dinner,
And we all mutually taunt and abuse each other,
She fits right in,
Both as taunter and tauntee. 
It's a good fit, Lord,
And I'm happy for it.
I'm happy because it's life-affirming to know
That a family unit can travel more than
Halfway across the country
And acquire yet another addition...
It's life-affirming to know
That a family unit can descend upon
A hapless, unsuspecting individual
And make that person feel at home
Within its walls and hearts.

Father,
Thank you for the gift
Of my burgeoning friendship with the archer. 
Thank you for the ease with which
She feels at home here. 
After all,
Aren't our homes here on earth
And the desire we have to be "at home"
A faint echo of
Our heart's longings
To be near and dear to You?... 

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