An Unexpected Bridge

I will admit there are times when I don’t understand why God does the things He does. I’ll also admit there have been moments when I haven’t been particularly joyful toward Him. In fact, recently, I haven’t been fully “all in” with God spiritually. Much of this has to do with recent events in my life.

While I can understand some of the reasons behind these events, others remain a mystery to me. Because of this, I’ve found myself feeling angry, sad, and unhappy.

But today, something interesting happened, and I’d like to share it with you.

My mother and her sister, my aunt, both love poetry. Recently, my aunt reached out to my mother asking for a copy of The Creation by James Weldon Johnson. My mother asked me to bring her a book of poetry she owns so she could look for it. Together, we searched through her collection, flipping through pages, but the poem wasn’t there.

Determined to help, I searched for the poem online. When I found it, I copied it into an email and sent it to my aunt, letting her know it was from my mother.

Although I had heard of the poem before, I had never actually read it. Out of curiosity, I saved a copy to my computer and decided to read it myself.

As I read each line, vivid images formed in my mind, almost as if I were witnessing the birth of the world. It was a breathtaking experience. When I finished reading, I paused and decided to have a conversation with God.

I said to Him, “I don’t think You were just lonely when You created the world. I think You wanted to create something You could be proud of. And when You created humanity, it was because You wanted to share everything You made with us.”

As I spoke those words, I teared up. For the first time in a long while, I felt a renewed perspective on God’s love and intentions. I was reminded of how blessed we are—not just because God chose to share this world and universe with us, but also because He gave us His Son, Jesus.

Of course, there will still be moments when I feel puzzled by life’s events, when sadness and questions will resurface. But today, God did something amazing. He used a poem to spark my imagination and help me see the wonder of His Creation.

Amen.