At the Foot of the Cross
Karina Rivera
I found myself staring down at the destruction
before me:
Soul-deep cracks scattered across the terrain.
Just what had happened here?
Jagged edges made it impossible to walk
Dust over the land made it impossible to
breathe.
Desolation stirred in me a desire
To bring this place back to life again.
I knelt by the edge,
Facing a crevice that was impossible to breach.
Challenged to build a bridge,
With only echoes of laughter, happiness, and
love,
I told myself these joys would be enough.
They had to be enough.
But time and time again,
These tools proved to be too fragile
For the task they had been assigned.
I knelt by the edge,
Facing a crevice that was impossible to breach,
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I scoured every inch of the land,
Finding reason and knowledge in abundance,
Accomplishments and recognition in their wake.
But even these were not enough
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Many years I walked along aimlessly,
Following fault lines that led me nowhere,
Searching for an edge to begin anew.
32 Fall 2016
But time and time again,
Many years I walked along aimlessly,
Following fault lines that led me nowhere,
Searching for an edge to begin anew.
But time and time again,
The brokenness of this land
Echoed hurt, pain, and sorrow
That refused to be healed.
Weary bones brought me to my knees.
My feeble voice cried out
To a God I was wholeheartedly unsure existed.
And that was precisely where He found me.
He who had traversed this wreckage
As if there was something of worth to be found.
He who stooped down to meet me
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He who lifted me up
As if I were a tender child in His arms.
He had traversed this deso late land
With one goal in mind:
To lay down a hefty cross
Clear across this ravine.
There, at the edge of the rift
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There, at the base of the bridge,
He held out an inviting hand.
And there, at the foot of the cross,
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He heals the brokenhearted and binds up
their wounds. (Psalm 147:3, NIV)
Karina Rivera is a senior concentrating in Public Health.