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Reverence
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REVERENCE
poem by Julie Cadwallader-Staub
The air vibrated
with the sound of cicadas
on those hot Missouri nights after sundown
when the grown-ups gathered on the wide back lawn,
sank into their slung-back canvas chairs
tall glasses of iced tea beading in the heat
and we sisters chased fireflies
reaching for them in the dark
admiring their compact black bodies
their orange stripes and seeking antennas
as they crawled to our fingertips
and clicked open into the night air.
In all the days and years that have followed,
I don't know that I've ever experienced
that same utter certainty of the goodness of life
that was as palpable
as the sound of the cicadas on those nights:
my sisters running around with me in the dark,
the murmur of the grown-ups' voices,
the way reverence mixes with amazement
to see such a small body emit so much light.
Today the boys played carefree, with snotty noses and cold cheeks. Their father's laughter and strong arms surrounded them, upheld them, and gave them the sense they could really fly.
Children's hearts come alive in the times when love abounds and the sun shines.
When their parents laugh, pushing them on tire swings, the soil of their little hearts are toiled and made ready for the seeds that lead to eternal life. God came that our little ones might have life, eternal life forever with Him and abundant life here and now with us as we point them toward our Savior.
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
(John 10:10)
My tendency is to focus with such intensity on the eternal that I lose sight of this present life in Him, with one another. Today I am challenged to let my teaching lips be still, opening them only in laughter, giving my children pleasure in the abundance and reverence of here and now. Even in this Holy week. Especially this Holy week. Reverence in the abounding love. Life to the full.
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3 Comments
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Bethany
3:49 PM on April 4, 2012
I too have spent a childhood's eternity of hot Missouri nights listening to cicadas and catching fireflies. What a perfectly appropriate poem! I'm glad you enjoyed the gift 
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Kelli
5:54 PM on April 4, 2012
This is so beautiful, Wendy. So very, very beautiful. Thank you.
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Bryan
5:59 PM on April 6, 2012
My only comment is, fantastic post. As my wife and I raise four children, this really causes me to pause and think about not only directing them to Christ and our eternal home, but enjoying the blessing of their lives in the here and now.
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