Then and Now

Emptiness is my name
without You.
A bitter void,
a nothingness like nothing else.
Not even loneliness,
not even pain,
not even yearning.
Nothing
Empty

Alone is my name
without You.
Utter solitude
regardless of who's nearby.
I know no friendship,
no deep intimacy,
no true relationship.
No community
Alone

Death is my name
without You.
Death in the way that
it is not life.
I live, but incompletely.
I breathe, but not the air I need.
Without You, I am surrendered to
the defeated enemy of my Lord
Death


I wrote those words more than a year ago and just discovered it in a prayer journal this morning. To this I now add:

Redeemed is my name
in Your presence.
A spring bursting forth,
Restored and refreshed and renewed.
Not even loneliness,
not even pain,
not even yearning
can take me from You.
Redeemed