The Wall. This year, as the holidays approach, we may find ourselves on a collision course with the seemingly insurmountable.

Rather than writing a post, here is a small heartfelt anodyne — from our house to yours — the first of several Soundings I’ll send you over the holiday months. Dreamer and I hope you’ll share these with those you know who might enjoy them. In a time of walls, relational disconnects, and lockdown, hope, too, may prove contagious.

Today you’ll hear “God of the Living,” a powerful blessing written by artist/writer/speaker Jan Richardson, followed by a song Dreamer wrote—both pieces gratefully voiced by yours truly.

GOD OF THE LIVING

When the wall
between the worlds
is too firm,
too close.

When it seems
all solidity
and sharp edges.

When every morning
you wake as if
flattened against it,
its forbidding presence
fairly pressing the breath
from you
all over again.

Then may you be given
a glimpse
of how weak the wall
and how strong what stirs
on the other side,

breathing with you
and blessing you
still,
forever bound to you
but freeing you
into this living,
into this world
so much wider
than you ever knew.

THE EYES OF ALL (based on Ps. 145:15-16, 18-19)

The eyes of all wait upon you and the reason—
oh, my Lord, you give them their meat in due season.
You open your hand, and every man is made full.

The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him.
He hears their cry and he draws nigh to save.

“God of the Living” by Jan Richardson, from Sparrow: A Book of Life and Death and Life, Wanton Gospeller Press, 2020. Used by permission.

“The Eyes of All” by Bill Klein, Sounding Chord, House of Mercy Music, 1984. Used by permission.