A Lenten Poem

Being brave is hard.

Those darn feelings of ‘not enough’,

Flood, gush through our mind, body, spirit

And the prayer for help, for guidance

Is drowned out by the roaring in our ears

Of  “I can’t.”  “It’s too hard for me”.  “I’m not strong enough”.

“Next time, I’ll try.”

But, then, a friend steps up.

“I’ll go if you go.”

You look each other in the eye,

She takes off to lead the way

And there you go,

Into a mysterious and wondrous experience

You would have missed if she had not held your proverbial hand.

Sometimes, courage needs a friend.

God knows and sends an angel.

Dedicated to Mamie McIndoe from Susan Ceely Philips