Ocean and Earth

My Lord God...

My friend's soul is,
To me,
Like the ocean.
Deep and mysterious.
Ebbing and flowing.
Sometimes dangerous in its motions.
Sometimes treacherous.
Sometimes tumultuous.
Changeable with a sense of
Brooding beneath the waves.
Alluring with a siren song
That is hard for me to resist.
Beautiful and terrifying,
Enlivening and crushing,
Able to buoy me
Or drown me.

My soul is
Like the earth,
A field where others
Build houses
From which they aren't evicted.
They can choose to leave,
But the fence remains open
For them to return. 
There are permanent residents here.
My heart strives to
Love them,
Nourish them,
Protect them,
To be a place where they can be
Safe and secure. 

Father,
I am standing on the shoreline
Between ocean and earth,
Surveying the damages wrought
By the most recent storm.
The tide has receded further out
Than I had expected or thought possible.

Eli,
My Lord God,
Face down in the wet sand,
I ask You to
Mediate for me.
Maker of earth and ocean,
Reconcile my friend's soul to me.

I am approaching the shoreline
With great unease and trepidation.

Please, God, please...
Not another loss,
Not another someone
I have to get over...