It’s one of those wintry days here in Grand Rapids, overcast and snowy, perfect for staying in even when you need to go out. The day is filled with thoughts that I process with bits of gray and sadness. I don’t really have words. So often, when my words fall short of my emotions, I usually stumble upon the lyrics of a poet to express what I can’t. Playing a Sleeping at Last album in the car on the way to pick up Ellison from school, that happened. The song “Needle and Thread” came on and expressed all that I couldn’t about my day. That is the beauty of art: It speaks when we can’t. It comforts when we are most upset. And can bring hope in the midst of sadness.

Today I’m praying hard, knowing that the Author of life is in control of each moment of our days.

When the world welcomes us in,
We’re closer to Heaven than we’ll ever know.
They say this place has changed,
But strip away all of the technology
And you will see
That we all are hunters,
Hunting for something that will make us okay.

Here we lay alone in hospital beds,
Tracing life in our heads;
But all that is left
Is that this was our entrance and now it’s our exit,
As we find our way home.

All the blood and all the sweat
That we invested to be loved
Follows us into our end,
Where we begin to understand

That we are made of love,
And all the beauty stemming from it.
We are made of love,
And every fracture caused by the lack of it.

“You were a million years of work,”
Said God and His angels, with needle and thread.
They kissed your head and said,
“You’re a good kid and you make us proud.
So just give your best and the rest will come,
And we’ll see you soon.”

All the blood and all the sweat
That we invested to be loved
Follows us into our end,
Where we begin to understand

That maybe Hollywood was right:
When the credits have rolled and the tears have dried,
The answers that we have been dying to find
Are all pieced together and, somehow,
Made perfectly mine.

We are made of love,
And all the beauty stemming from it.
We are made of love,
And every fracture caused by the lack of love