Fallen but Encouraged

We come together
almost every week
with nothing but honesty
in admission we speak.
Flaws falling out
in words and action,
souls ashamed,
hiding in contraction,
all the fallen
and sinful together
encouraging each other
with reminders of forever.
Bouts with sin
shared by all,
we pick up each other
and together we call
on our Savior's name
who will always listen,
who amidst the dirt
allows the promise to glisten.
He guides us on
the path that's right
and points us back
to each other's sides
as we come together
here yet again
as fallen but encouraged
women and men.

The Infection (A Singular Thought)

A habit long ago
thought to be long gone,
a negative thought to be turned
to the beginning of a promising dawn,
this singular thought
that once solely possessed my mind
was one I could not let go
even if it was something I tried not to find.
I tried to run from it
only to discover cowering would not prevail.
I attempted to dismiss it as normal,
a thought that was futile and surely did fail.
Counsel told me often
that it would catch up with me in time.
I knew its detrimental nature
was sure to aid in this undoing of mine.
I was not sure how it would
occur in what seemed to be painless,
that it could tear my very fabric
and mar that which was seemingly stainless.
My thoughts of naivety
that once served as my shield
are now the worst enemy
of the protector on my soul's battlefield.
A struggle that began
so many years ago
was swept under the rug
allowing the emotional cancer to grow.
Never being the proactive carrier
and never taking the precautions needed,
I have allowed the disease within
to take me to within inches of being defeated.
With a deep breath to take
as I peer over the cliff on which I stand,
I have this last split second
to make a final demand:
I must catch my balance
as I turn my body and soul around
to face the infection that I have allowed
to penetrate and surround;
I must utilize the assistance
and aid at every turn to combat
the sickness I have coddled for years
that has caused my soul to fall flat;
it is now that the turnaround
must come to fruition
or else this heart, soul, and body
will succumb to this evil condition's inflictions.

Storms

Why don't we sit in the rain?
Why can't we enjoy what we rail against?
The freedom gained and knowledge bestowed
by resting in the eye of the storm
can cause a life all the difference.
Walking the earth with a mindset
that is convinced this "universe" is our enemy
will cause a subject to only live for one's self,
to prosper on its own time and own place
but chained with a soul that will never be freed.

Perhaps this storm is a blessing.
Perhaps branches falling are much needed.
Perhaps that which scares and pushes us
to a limit from which we were convinced we could not return
serves to show the "universe," known as God, won't allow us to be defeated.
Perhaps it is only when we realize we need a storm
that we can have the trust that it will fade.
Perhaps the fear the rain won't pass
and that the wind will carry us away
is precisely what caused this storm to stay.

Though the wind may be chilling
and water droplets may annoy,
the storm is forever passing,
the rolls of thunder are always fleeting,
and flashes of lightning just a ploy.
When it is all finished,
as it will be as quickly as it started,
we will come out both blessed and protected,
shown no storm, trial, tribulation, or anything of the sort
will strike or consume the souls that are eternally guarded.