This is a new poem, written by my brother in Christ, David Riordan… What do I do when I just want to quit? Things seem wrong, my fire's barely lit. Attacked from all sides, wounded and harmed I’ve sent up a flag, an all-points alarm. How much more, I ask to the sky. The sky has no answers, no reasons why. I know what is real, what is definitely true. I know where to go and just what to do. But blocks are in place, I stumble and fall. Pushed into the dirt, I’ve given it all. Battered and bruised, I can’t even walk. My writing’s been banned, it’s hard to talk. What will I do, I cry to my God. No answer’s apparent, I feel at odds. If I must choose when no answer is clear, I look to the things that I hold dear. Perhaps my possessions hold a clue to the things I feel are more important than you. Release them I will for I have a choice; I will give Grace and Mercy a resounding voice. If Christ can give up Glory just for me What should I choose to give willingly? He set an example in all that He did I must give up me and be like Him instead. Anything that stands obstructing my way over my thoughts and deeds hold sway; those I must give up if I want His sight To see my neighbor and do what’s right. Too often I’m tired and struggling, holding tight to possessions is exhausting. Not only do they wear me completely out here I give up the treasure I hold most dear. “Store up your treasure where rust doesn’t corrupt,” Is what our Lord said about how we conduct our lives and actions toward others and such; giving is storing; it’s how lives we touch. When I look beyond all that is me and mine, My burdens are lifted, and I begin feeling fine. But if I cannot see my neighbor next door I hold what's blocking my eyes and more. If I want joy and life to abound I have to let go of what’s lashing me down. Untying my greed for all that I own I give it away as seeds to be sown. In planting life in those who I know I set myself free, though the trials don’t go. I just no longer see them as what they were— needs are apparent, they become a blur. There’s nothing wrong with having things God gives us a lot in all that life brings, But when they grow too important to see, I value them more than Christ in me. The secret to joy is the thing I’ve found. Possessions won’t follow us into the ground. We don’t stay buried for long anyway. More awaits in Heaven than what we give today