Suddenly.

Head down. Heart heavy. Eyes weary of tears.
Knees raw from the bending, the praying, from fears.

Shaded circles beneath her shadow,
Where tears fell to the ground.

A valley of death, despair, and sorrow.
A barrenness with no birth to be found.

Eyes fixated on loss. On an empty tomorrow.
Brought low to the dust, to the ashes that follow.

Silence. Stillness in the atmosphere.
A world, her world… is no longer here.

Waiting. Wanting. Hoping. Praying.
One flame burning, tenacious and strong.

Begging. Pleading. Sobbing. Breaking.
One flame glowing the whole night long…

Suddenly…

For behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it...?
(Is 43:19)

A noise is heard off to the right.
So sudden. So foreign to this ever quiet night…

She's caught off guard. Confused. Concerned.
Her head lifts up… Her grief deterred.

Suddenly, she's grasping. Desperate to hear.
Life. It was life. Beckoning her nearer!

Calling to her. Beckoning her. Lifting her head...

Wooing her. Enticing her. Holding every tear that was shed.

Is this what she heard in the black of night?
In the wake of death? With her one flaming light?

Broken by death, by life suddenly lost.
Now broken in Life, by such grace at such cost...

Being wooed and restored, her head lifted up,
With her eyes, she can see… Life is filling my cup.

This flickering light, always burning, so strong,
Was changing her life, making right what was wrong…

She sees now the sun. It's radiant light.
It's warmth offering strength after the long hard winter night.

When did it rise? Was it there all along?
For she did not see it. She did not hear the song.

But there it is singing… A song of new life.
Of springtime and summer, so much joy and delight!

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. (Ezekiel 39:25)