Lucie’s Forgiven
Letter to the reader:
This piece wrestles with justice, mercy, and the limits of human forgiveness. We extend grace to many, yet some sins—like harming children—shake our very core. How do we reconcile God’s boundless love with evil so vile? Jesus died for all, even those we deem unredeemable. But when faced with such darkness, can we truly embrace “more of You and less of me”?
When the words escape you,
when the sand doesn't crush under your feet
but pierces the skin,
when the blood runs through your hands
like chocolate in the fountain.
The soft murmurs of crickets,
coincided with the adults lingering in halls,
water coolers
warmer than the hearts of
those whose throats crave the H20.
Outrage,
Shock,
Racing heart beats,
all regulate
before the working day is out.
The man who overtook you
on the drive into the temperature regulated recycled air,
not quite at the back of your mind.
Not like the article in your junk file
sent by someone whose name
you had to facebook search.
We crave affirmations
for our morals being just
& say we would never do
what those before us did
while we sit idle
to things
beyond Lucie's imagination.
Deep reds,
flames,
hues of grey's,
alike ash
under the feet
we once walked beaches with.
Is it Hell?
Is it a place we read about,
in the book of revelations,
or is it a location
set on the planet
our God made for us
to prosper on?
How can we talk about His goodness,
when so much evil is amongst us?
How can we worship His wonder
when His children,
Our children,
are being forced
into situations that make
for a simulation of down under
look like a movie trailer?
My God loves me,
He forgives me for my wrongs,
I am able to stand head high,
amongst society even with my sins,
those of many moons ago
& those as this sun is
still warming the trees
I burn in the paper rolled between my fingers.
Rejoiced,
Celebrated,
Testimonies given
with clapping of hands,
Cheering,
& joy from a congregation
only wanting restoration
for those on the pulpit.
We talk about second chances,
Third,
Fourth
& one hundred chances.
We forgive those
as if we have the power too.
We accept those
as if we have the audacity not to.
Yet even in a place
made for our creator.
We shut down,
We quieten,
& when asked,
We pause.
What of those whose sin isn’t as acceptable?
We forgive murderers if the victim was of sound age,
We forgive adulterers if the spouse was absent
or abusive.
We even forgive the abusers,
rapists and thieves.
We forgive if the sin was in ‘just reasoning’,
beyond the law.
If enough time has passed,
If enough ‘rehabilitation’ has been given.
If the elders deem it to be so.
What of those who
harm our children?
What of those
who sexually harm, & desire to harm them?
What of the darkest parts of Hell
brought to this planet?
We are not God,
We are not Satan,
We are not the judge of
good and evil.
Would you sit next to someone
Who hurt,
Who damaged,
Whose fantasies are so illegal
they have a ‘special’ area
in prisons just for these people?
Would you comfort,
console & support someone
who was trying to overcome
or would it be too much to handle?
It's an evil world out there,
but what of those
who once were children,
who once played with the toys
now used to lure children into vans with?
Do they deserve retribution?
I want to say yes,
but I also wouldn't shed a tear
at the funeral unattended
when the prison surveillance
goes off for those short minutes.
What if God told you he loved all his creation?
Even those
Who hurt & destroy
the souls of those still learning to tie shoes?
What if that soul was your own child?
What if they were your siblings?
Would you lock them up,
say they are ‘too far gone?’
Jesus died for all of us.
So why do I struggle with the notion to accept,
to look past such a sin,
to look for the goodness
in a person whose pleasure
is something only demons find comfort in.
We sing ‘more of You and less of me’.
I know Jesus loves all of us.
But what of those deemed so unloveable?