What do I know of shawq?!
How many nights have I stayed awake,
ceaselessly crying?!
How many days have I labored,
endlessly yearning?!
Simply for a glimpse of Your Face.
Instead I remain distracted,
in a world of forms,
obsessed with small gifts,
that You give or withhold with perfect wisdom.
Would that I looked a little further,
to the horizon of nearness,
and lost all concern for whatever lies between.
The petty joys – children, lovers, homes, achievements – that we delight in,
make me so sad
when I see their place in my heart,
for they mean I am a liar.
Yet You remain patiently waiting
for us
to begin to notice You.
One day
You will show us
how beautiful You always were
and our hearts will break
over and over again
remembering every moment we spent
longing for anything
or anyone
other than You.
A Mercy Case 