You Walked In

You walked in

Crumbling 

I guess that best describes 

The condition of my life

If anyone really looked

My friends

And they truly are my friends 

Missed it as they walked about

Around and through my life 

There was no malice

There was no neglect

There was no forethought

None of this was their intent 

It is merely

The busyness of every life

The care and concerns 

The day to day of living 

And still 

I crumbling stand

In the midst of it all

Feeling alone in the crowd

To say

You walked in 

Would be a misnomer 

Speaking technically

You were always there

From the beginning

Until now

You have been at my side 

You were there, waiting 

Although again

Speaking strictly technically

You weren't actually waiting 

You were walking

You were working

You were holding

You were supporting

Sometimes this load 

The one I decided to carry

Caused me to sway

Under the burden unexpected 

You kept me from falling

You provided invisible support

When my legs buckled

And my arms flailed 

To others, or mostly myself

It seemed amazing

I didn't crumble 

Looking back, it seemed miraculous 

I felt the obligation

Gaining weight 

Or I losing strength

Or fading in resolve

I can't give a timetable

Or tell you how long

I didn't count the steps

Or measure the distance 

From a decision

To a light affliction 

To a encumbrance 

To the crushing millstone

I carried that day

I cried out

By reason of my fear

The ground beneath my feet

Seemed as a troubled sea

"Lord, save me"

The words

Driving from my soul

Nearly drowned out by weariness 

You walked in

Your hand moved between 

My seeming inescapable burden

And my crumbling life

For the first time 

I felt a taste of freedom

Separated from my affliction 

The weight from my birth

There are no adequate words

None can convey the joy

Like trying to describe 

Taking your first breath

I sing now

Not the song of sorrow

But of a joy, unspeakable

Full of glory

I speak now

Not the words of death and dying

But the words of living and life

And that, more abundantly 

I walk now

Not the walk of the slave

But the walk, not by sight

In a newness of life

I live now

Not in the darkness of shame

But I live in the light

Marvelously created

In Him

I live now

I move

I have my being

Not one part of my life

Was not changed

When I cried out

When You walked in

You walked in

Ron Simpson, Jr. 

September 28, 2014