Dry Leaves

In the beginning
You were full of promise
But it was only that not enough time had passed
And you had not yet learned the art of the excuse

I waited here, under the tree you planted
But your promises are floating to the ground like autumn leaves
All the bigness and green of spring and summer leached away

You know, you say
I've seen your mound of broken promises in the backyard
Well, I say
Who gave you permission to go digging around
There is a reason they are locked up
Back there I don't have to see that mountain
'Cause how could I even begin to glue those leaves back on the tree

There we sit. Me counting the leaves as they fall
You sizing your pile up against mine
Going nowhere
Humans trading green promises that turn brown before we can cash them in

Another leaf falls
Frail with no water to feed it
And another leaf falls
Dry and translucent like a sun bleach poster
Advertising a poetry reading no one heard

Are Your promises like that, Lord
Made in the ancient days
Copied and translated
Printed and reprinted
Decomposing with each pass
Fading on onion skin paper
So thin it's hard to see
Let alone keep them
Or follow through
Jesus do You remember where You left me

I put my hand down on the frigid autumn sidewalk
And damp leaves stick to my hands
Are these Your promises
Soaking up the water they craved
In the days before they dried up and fluttered down

No. This wet stack of leaves aren't Your promises
They look more like they have my handwriting on them
Yours... are different

I remember the heartbeat that stopped in Jesus' chest
I remember the heartbeat that began again
I remember the hundreds of promises
I remember the hundreds of years
You worked behind the scenes to put yourself up on the cross
And rehydrate the hope that was parched and lifeless

Oh Lord, You know
You know how I feel waiting, sitting here on the sidewalk alone
The ground is hard and cold and made of concrete
It hurts to be here but You know
Your stone seat came with a rock blocking the exit
Blocking the light, blocking Your father's voice
And still, You never forgot

You never forgot Noah, on that stinking, cacophonous, holy boat
You never forgot Joseph, or Paul stashed away in prison cells
You never forgot Daniel in the living room of hungry lions
You never forget the ones in the fire

They waited
And all the while You remembered them like a precious treasure hidden away
Waiting it's turn
We waited, we thought we had been left behind
But no, we never slipped Your mind
Not for a minute, or a single second

Your promises were never drying and fading
Your promises are crafted from holy covenants
Your promises are etched into the fiber of our being

Your promises were never the leaves to begin with
They are the water
Washing away the temporary travesties
Your promises a sea I can set sail on

They rehydrate and heal my terrified soul and weary bones
They rehydrate my brittle and bitter heart
My hope has no business being set on the promises of my brother
Or in my power to keep all those leaves together.

For ALL the promises of God find their YES in Christ
Cause You have never once
Dropped the ball
Or forgot where You parked the car
You fill our cup
You wash us clean
So through him I say my amen
Let it be so
To the Glory of God