The Giant We Slay©

The yoke seems too heavy to carry,
the giant you face lives right inside of you
standing up ten feet tall at the most unexpected time.

The sunrise seems to never come,
darkness appears to be all there is,
load piles up upon load in seemingly endless despair.

Among all the chaos around you
the walls appear to be closing in,
loneliness while amidst friends and family creeps up like a prowling lion,
devouring you bit by bit.

The pieces of your heart are too many to assemble
them back together,
the wounds seem too deep to ever heal.
You're drowning in the storm around you and within.

You've stopped reaching, you've stopped trying,
it's just too much, there's no denying.
The pit seems too deep, the distance too far.
You feel like you've tried your last try.

Love lives out there, not inside with the giant.
Treasures of grand for all but you.
You and your giant will do just fine,
as long as you hold your ground.

How much more will it take?
You don't have the answer.
Just you and your giant, you'll weather the storm.

The walls close in tighter,
the storm turns worse,
the weight keeps on growing, along with the fear.

At one moment in time,
out of nowhere it seems,
the giant stands up and with his feet
crushes you to the ground.

You are surprised.
You didn't expect it.
You weren't prepared.
What can you do?

You see the debris the giant left behind
and in great dispair realize
that he not only crushed you,
but your loved ones around you.

You want to declare defeat
like so many times before,
yet you reach out.

You reach out to the sling and stone
a helping hand is giving you.
You hear yourself say a prayer
and with all the strength left in you,
you swing that sling, you release the stone,
you hit your giant straight on the head.

In disbelief you see him fall,
all ten ugly feet of him,
flat to ground with a great big thump,
breathing his last nasty breath.

 You stand there, broken and trembling,
in awe of what just happened.
It seems so quiet, so peaceful at last,
yet the storm around you has not stopped.

You look at all the ones around you,
crushed by the giant within you,
broken and hurt in so many ways
that you panic out of fear that you lost them.

You hear a voice "Come, child, come."
and you look up at a familiar face.
You know this face from years ago
when you used to do life together.

You thought that He had long forgotten you,
that you had gone too far,
that He would never come to your aid again
no matter how loud you cried.

You then look into His loving eyes
and see His answer there,
"My child, I do not work that way. Come let me hold you thight."

"For so many years I have called on you,
but the giant spoke too loud -
you didn't hear my voice.

I reached out to you
but the giant had bound your hands.
I showed myself to you in those surrounding you,
but the giant had blinded your eyes to see."

After all those years
you fall on your knees
weeping a stream of tears.
"I'm sorry, Father," you cry out,
"for leaving your side! Have mercy, Father, I need you back into my life."

You grab His stretched out arm
and finally again reach soul hands with the One who is Love,
the Only One who can calm the storm.

You sit by His side as He calms the storm,
as He picks up all the tiny pieces
of your heart and the hearts of your loved ones,
and puts them gently back together;
as He heals all your wounds and wipes all the tears.

You wonder, why did I wait so long?
How did I let the giant grow so tall inside of me?
When love is so much greater and joy is so much brighter.

Dwell not, my David,
for you slayed the giant.
Your Father will provide the rest.
Take His hand and the hands of your loved ones
and walk together from hereon out.

There are many treasures to be opened
on the road ahead.
Don't look back and enjoy every one of them,
for He so freely gives.

                                   Synthia Friesen