Ode to Joy

Every tear that slides down your cheek in anguish
Crushes my heart as if it were a ton of stones
Cast from a towering cliff.

Every harsh word that pierces your ear
Twists the sharpest sword through my ribs,
Ripping, tearing, breaking.

Every burden you collapse under
Binds me like rusty steel shackles
Clinking and stretched tight with useless struggling.

Every gale of life that leaves your soul
Dry, scorched, and cracking
Rises up in me helpless cries for justice.

When two become one, one becomes new.
When two become one, one becomes faithful.
When two become one, one becomes stronger.
Two become one.

~RG

Hitting a Wall

"Am I at the point of no improvement?
What of the death I still dwell in?
I try to excel, but I feel no movement.
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?
I throw up my hands.
"Oh, the impossibilities."
Frustrated and tired,where do I go from here?
Now I'm searching for the confidence I've lost so willingly.
Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fears."

-Relient K

Time after time you try to move past where you are at. Relentlessly banging your head against the wall. You have become stagnant. You have turned circles only to return once more to the place where you started. Nothing has changed. You have a vision for the future, but it is hazy, unclear. Is it possible that the wall that you are facing is endless, insurmountable? You look up. The bricks seem to reach to infinity. Stretching higher than you could imagine until they fade into the clouds.

In all this pain, in all this heartache you are searching for a breakthrough. A simple passage that will lead you on to the next wall. Who will turn your head to the side to show you that the obstacle in front of you may grow upward in a boundless expanse, but is only a few feet wide? Who will take your hand and lead you around it?

The Edge of the Continent

Having just spent 4 days on the Northern California coast with my wife, parents, and siblings I got to thinking about how little breaks from the ordinary can have such significance. The mundane things in life seem to stretch endlessly with monotony, but an email from an old friend or a loving kiss from your spouse can somehow change what was "just another day" into something so much more. Strive to fill your days with extraordinary moments.

Here are some moments to share from our trip.