by Steve Olson
What an upside down God you are.
Moving in the places we least expect it
Is it any wonder we don’t see you, why we say “He has hidden from us.”
You do not hide, we just don’t have any idea where to look.
Ruth, was in an upside down place maybe not even that
But a place beyond our imagination
We explore the far reaches of space and never once see You, So
We declare You do not exist
We never once look in places that are simple, to a refugee camp or the person of a foreigner
Yet, should we desire to see You
We must turn our gaze from the lights we have lit
To save ourselves from the darkness
We fear the dark and in our fear
Fail to see your more brilliant light at work
In those of humble means
In those who simply obey
If we cannot manipulate the dark to serve us
We illuminate it
Rather than search for You there.
In darkness, alien to us
We choose to build our own lanterns
And place you there
In bright malls
In brilliant civic displays
100 watts in the manger
Make sure Mary and Joseph are plugged in
Ring the register bells
To announce the heir of David
Our gaze is riveted to the star
In Rockefeller
While millennium ago
In a refugee camp
A small woman not even one of US
Kindles Hope
She listens to her heart
And obeys
Give us hope in longer days
And then turn our gaze to the darkness we fear
There we will find Light.
Upside down,
Inside Out.