It had been a long time since we last saw each other
Twenty years since they rescued me
We had been so engrossed with life
Now life keeps drawing different ones back
Today it was him
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I hadn’t seen him as I walked by
The crowd was too big by then
Yet I felt someone watching me so I turned
There he was, watching, smiling,
Shaking his head, clucking his tongue
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You see, I’m in process
I’m dealing & digging deep
I had asked God who I used to be
Today He set out to show me
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We had met many years ago
My life was shredded and in the gutter
Cold, lonely, empty, dry
Devastatingly quiet and sombre
Falsely seeming stable and solid outside
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One day I was beautiful, I loved, I accepted,
I laughed, had strength, hope, courage
I was the hub of all plans,
I broke it down and built it up
I was reliable, dependable, the rock
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Then suddenly I wasn’t anything
Instantly I was broken, shaken, confused
Lost in the darkness groping for support
Stumbling on flat ground,
Falling on smooth pavements
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Blind in the sunlight yet with perfect sight
Deaf in the day yet with perfect hearing
In the valley of the shadow of death
I was at the end of myself
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I died many times over
Yet no one noticed
When one saw me he just said,
‘Get it together mrembo,
we want the girl we knew and loved.’
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How could I do that?
Where would the strength come from
Who would walk with me?
Would any one See Me?
Couldn’t they see I needed help?
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Then they appeared…
A total of twelve from different places
Each more diametrically different
All from outside my world
Yet they didn’t care we were so dissimilar
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I called them my boys,
They called me one of the boys
Totally unknown to themselves
They became the arms, feet and heart of God
A healing balm to a broken life
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They were sent of God
Though it seemed totally unlikely
A designated support system
Helpers to tide me through, under and over
My people, my strength, my brothers
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Sad lonely days turned to happy ones
Gloom gave way to laughter
Emptiness filled with warm hugs
Seats saved on the bus, on the wall, at the meeting
Unconditional acceptance & no judgement
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And when their assignment ended
They left as rapidly as they came
Vanishing as suddenly as they appeared
Like mist when the sun rises
There was no trace of them
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Now life has come full circle
We are older, wiser, more confident
But we can look back to those days
I smiled, my heart skipped,
I remembered
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‘No way!!!’ he said shaking his head
Scanning me from top to bottom.
He reached out and hugged me
He said it so quietly I almost missed it
‘Damn girl! You look the same! ‘
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I smiled,
My heart comforted,
My spirit stilled,
My joy confirmed
My hope grounded.
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Papa had done His work
He’d kept His word
He’d restored me in Him
Now I am whole,
Finally I am free.