Meditate is a monthly column in which insights gained from meditating on the Word are shared. This month the insights are shared in the form of two poems. Contact us if you'd like to write a submission for this column. -Editor
"But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever" (Psalm 52:9)."For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well" (Psalm 139: 13-14).
An Olive Tree in the House of God
I remember her kitchen table, thick and dark,
At its center, a bowl of black olives.
I, at that table,
By the door, always open,
She’d serve me a plate of chopped greens.
Safe in her presence, in her kitchen,
by those olives,
I’d weep and confess my sins.
Speaking trust and forgiveness,
She’d dress my salad with oil,
my remorse with mercy,
Like an olive tree in the house of God.
New Life
She’s a pink, fifteen-pounder of chub;
the human form at it again.
Relentless life kicking me in the gut,
cooing that sweet, ancient song.
Something about her blue eyes—
light singing from those dark pits outward,
spreading the deep blue to the rim.
That song, that song,
That all-too-often-falling-on-deaf-ears song:
“You’re loveable! You’re worth this life! You’re enough!”
Chelsea recently had her third baby and has moved to Glenside, PA. She appreciates the time for reflection writing this column makes her carve out. She is an assistant editor for New Church Connection and an editor and writer for New Church Perspective.