BLESSING AT BIRTH

May you come to know the Christian faith as everyday language, where grace is a tangible reality, and where love is known as the beginning and the end.

May you come to know the story of God’s love through the stories of Scripture and the lives of your parents, family, and faith community.

May you come to know the value of prayer as you listen for God’s voice and look for His lead.

May you come to have a foundation of the faith that allows you to discover and develop your own deeply held belief and relationship with God.

May you always know that you as a child of God; that you are His child before anyone else.

May your parents care for you, love you, guide you, and walk beside you through your journey of life and faith from this day until their last.

May you live a life of blessing in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I TOOK A LIFE TODAY

I took a life today.
I fantasized all summer about
Killing.

I took my anger
My rage
Beat out the life and
Breath.

As I rolled the corpse
I saw a stump
A squirrel
With three legs.

It was
Me
Broken
Trapped
Beaten.

It curled up
Peaceful as it fell
Off the shovel
Into the black
Of the garbage can. 

Bitter cold hands
Numb from killing
Holding a cigarette.

No sun
Only gray
And dying
Today.

Jared Ray Mackey