To Span the Difference Between Peace & Pain

Words of wisdom from Bishop Steven Charleston:

How hard it is to sit here 
in this quiet world 
while just over the horizon death
is falling from the sky. 
How helpless I feel 
to change that reality.
I cannot bring my safety to those in danger.
I cannot end their struggle
as much as I wish I could. 
But I believe the love of the Spirit 
is in both places at once. 
It is here in my life
and there in their heartbreak. 
With all the faith I have
I seek to connect
those two end points of hope:
let whatever love was meant for me
go to them. 
Let it help in any small way it can.
Let it ransom as many as it can. 
Let my love do what my life cannot 
and span the distance 
between my peace and their pain.

Bishop Steven Charleston, April 20, 2022

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash