I had the privilege of reading a poem I'd been asked to write last Sunday. This is the third year our church was asked by the Deep Ellum Arts Festival to present a Sunday message. We were outside on the big stage, in the middle of Main Street in Dallas. What's so amazing about it is the fact that we were asked. Several years ago, Deep Ellum protested having a church in this arts and culture section of Dallas. But after years of working to improve our shared community, we earned their trust and a right to speak.
So Sunday's theme was love. The songs and poems people spoke of talked about true love, God's unconditional love for all people. Mimo (awesome songwriter/musician) performed one of my personal favorites "Let Justice Roll Down". Another musician, Ben, read a satiric modern day version of 1 Corinthians he had written, and my friend Justin (a founder of ArtLoveMagic) performed his spoken word poem about extravagant love. It was beautiful to take part in. Here's my poem:
I want to love and be loved
But my heart is scarred
I long to see clearly
But my vision is impaired
I'm handicapped by my humanity
This fog that surrounds me
Leaves me in shadows
My eyes can't penetrate
The layer of ignorance I walk in
I am lost and alone
Unable to help even myself
But your love pierces through my reality
And I realize how blind I've been
I have lived in a rainbow of gray
My passion is mediocre at best
Compared to your extravagant love
But in you, I am complete
Awakened to new life
New clarity, new colors, new hope
And though I am limited here
Held captive by my skin
Soon I will be unhindered
Fully embraced by you
