“Where are you?”

“Where are you?”
In the muck and mire.
“Where are you?”
Setting the world on fire.
Wrapped with the serpent.
Damning Eden.
Covering beauty in foliage and the land with shame.
“Where are you?”
I have yet to know.
It is dark. But I love it.
It is dark. I can hide.
(“Pleasures untold await”) I’ll just hide and hear “where are you?”
I’m in the muck and the mire. I’m in the filth I’ve created. I’ll stay here. I’ll wade in pain.
I’ll close my eyes. Shut up my mind. I’ll shut out any glimmer of grace and light.
Night, night; I’m free. Free to walk. Free to stumble. Free from the sun, from the light. O’ night!

“Where are you, Adam?”

“You were in Eden.”

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About Paul O'Brien

I am a lot of things; saint and sinner. I struggle and I strive. I am a husband and father of three. I have been in pastoral ministry for 17 years. I went to school at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary but most of my schooling has been at the School of Hard Knocks. I have worked various jobs, including pheasant farmer, toilet maker, construction worker, and I served in the military. My wife and I enjoy reading at coffee shops, taking walks, hanging out with friends and family. I am a chaplain in the Air National Guard, a hospice chaplain, and a covocational church planter working towards a micro church movement. :)

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