I tag each day with purpose
type in a list of to-dos
on the digital calendar
of each 24-hour cycle.
Oh, I’ll leave a moment or two for
the unexpected, but only grudgingly.
I want to be able to look back on
a day of checked boxes—
the illusion of control.
I find it laughable in a way.
Call yourself a Christian
and mean it
and Jesus will be
all up in your business
turning your enemies into friends
telling you who your brother is or is not
calling you to walk on water—please!
Read Acts if you think I lie.
As much as I protest
the best parts of the day
are the surprises, the interruptions
that shatter all my best intentions.
When they’re good, they are very good.
But when they’re bad, they are even better
because they chase me to the altar
to cry out to the great High Priest
who dismantles my plans
in order to produce patience
reconfigures my schedule
to remind me of the sacred
and teaches me that growing pains
most often apply to faith.
Preach all you want
Jesus says
but until the Holy Spirit
breathes into a moment
your words and works
are merely hollow.
Study to show yourself approved
not glued to the spot
you have settled on
apart from me.
Set aside your
carefully constructed programs
and preconceived notions
of who I am or who I love
and simply follow Me.
Acts 10:44–48