The Sacred Breakfast
The sun is awake; but the world is sleeping.
Hair in a messy bun,
No make up on,
and the remains of yesterday's dreams rippling through my heart.
The house is sleeping
and the dog
watches silently.
He is used to this ritual;
this sacred moment.
As if he knows his barks would destroy this moment.
This sacred time.
We sit my friend and I around a kitchen table; usually so filled with life.
Strawberries, yogurt and coffee,
Nothing extraordinary.
She starts and I listen; sharing in her triumphs and laughing with her joys.
Sometimes I ache with her. But today we smile with the sunshine.
We follow a rabbit trail, as only old friends can.
And I marvel at the fact that this woman has known me.
She has known me in my nose ringed, bleach blonde phase;
In my zealous and passionate youth.
She saw me declare God’s word, in a sweaty tent,
and like no other, knows how terrified I was that it would all go wrong.
Our lives look so different now
but those moments defined us
That shared history binds us
This life is for sharing.
I have seen her swell and shrink with children.
and I prayed for the young life;
that sits on the couch with adoring eyes.
Convinced I am there to see her.
She may be a little bit right.
We have watched seasons come and go;
We have known belly laughs and heart cries.
And the deep groans that communicate with God.
I have seen her wrestle with truth, and fight for wisdom,
She has watched me grieve.
We share the minute details of our lives.
Aware that how we spend our days;
is in fact how we spend our lives.
We have known sorrow,
Grief that could have destroyed our friendship
And yet we chose to protect.
We have grown in kindness.
Our rivers are such different colours;
but the water that feeds them is fresh.
We return to our first topic aware that the clocks ticks on.
I breathe and talk sharing heart secrets letting fences down.
This sacred hour
A central hub for our hearts
We often leave with questions
But in that moment
The sacred breakfast; questions are permissible.
We have shared theses moments for many years now.
We have grown accustomed to our quirks.
A friend and I have shared breakfast together every Friday for the past few months. We have known each other over 20 years and are obsessed with God’s Kingdom and his incredible love for His world. There is nothing special, no formula and no pretense. I encourage everyone to do the same. Find a friend and chat deep… This bread is in the sharing.
I love it!!! I can't believe the timing - just last night at community group the discussion went to being intentional with relationships - make the appointment, be consistent, really listen,.... all the things you did,... do,... I told them about you!!!! God is so good. SO GOOD!!! I can not wait to share coffee with you again. -Sue (must make my own google account, this signed me in with Ruth's email. I will try to fix it, but wanted to leave you this comment asap)
ReplyDeleteGood poem, Serena. I read it thinking it might be about your mum but perhaps it makes more sense being about a close friend. Sheila
ReplyDelete