Well do I know pain;

Sorrow, my close companion;

Fear, my constant.

Surely am I familiar with grief;

Comrade to despair;

Friend of suffering.

Vulnerability my mainstay;

Confusion my counselor;

Weakness my default.

And yet He says “rest”.

How does one rest in anguish;

Dwelling in uncertainty,

Wallowing in discontent?

How can surrender be sweet

Which leads no straight and certain path to freedom?

How can growth rise

From barren lands

And ashy ground?

In a land of all questions

And no answers,

What hope supplies for want;

Consolation for emptiness;

Comprehension for ignorance?

What shall supply strength;

Impart joy;

Minister courage,

In a place of no water

And ceaseless thirst?