Wholeness
By Jane Spriggs
“Children are to be seen and not heard”
was what I heard, and learned…
But you, God, have created me to be
an extrovert
a shepherd
a preacher
to lead and feed your people.
“God helps those who help themselves”
was what I heard, and learned…
But you, God, have called me to walk alongside
the broken
and be broken
and feel others’ pain
“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”
was what I heard, and learned…
so I avoided conflict and tension
But you, God are calling me to be bold
and honest
and tell the truth.
As I make friends with the little girl who was
afraid to be heard
afraid to be too big
afraid of the broken and being broken
afraid to tell the truth
I see you, Jesus
beside me
behind me
pushing me forward
letting me go
coming with me
Into wholeness.
***
Pastor Jane Spriggs wrote this poem when she attended Bethel Seminary – St. Paul about 12 years ago. She’s been preaching and leading at Monticello Covenant Church since 2011, and is finding beauty in brokenness and truth-telling – both hers and others. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two sons. You can find her on Facebook too.
Thanks for letting me run this, Jane. It’s a beautiful and powerful statement of your journey with Jesus.
Thank you, Tim, for the opportunity.
This is beautiful 💓
Thank you, Melody. I found it when cleaning my files this week, and felt nudged to share it (in the hopes that it might help someone else in their journey).
Thank you so much for this, Jane. It’s very powerful. So glad you heeded the call of God and not those other voices. I just love your final lines:
I see you, Jesus
beside me
behind me
pushing me forward
letting me go
coming with me
Into wholeness.
Thank you, Jeannie. That means a lot to me.