Discernment
She searches for an answer that is not there.
She seeks, not really believing she will find.
She is afraid to follow her heart
because doing that has caused so much pain,
disappointment, distrust, confusion
and sense of failure.
She believes that discernment works for others,
but not herself –
she must be doing it wrong, or worse
perhaps the past she lived,
and the bleak future she sees,
really is the will of God.
And I just want to look in her eyes and tell her,
“Only when you have the courage to say out loud
what you most desire will you find it.
Don’t settle, but instead hold onto it
like a snapping turtle,
like Jacob wrestling with the angel,
and be open to recognizing that what you most
desire may come in a way you do not expect.”