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Guessing, Confessing, and Blessing
By Jane Tawel
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This will be some doggerel,
from a broken heart and aching brain.
You’ll read guessing and my confessing,
then claims for us all for
a hopeful blessing:
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What can I do with a broken heart?
Tear it into smaller and smaller pieces.
Give it piece by piece
to the hungry, hurting world —
“My life’s heart, broken for you;
Take and eat.”
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What can I do with a boggled mind —
a mind so ensnared and wounded by fear?
Heal it with laughter
and with many tears —
“May this mind be in you
of the world’s servant-heroes,
who knowing nothing,
knew the fullness of God.”
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What can I do with weak hands and sore feet?
Step forwards and backwards
and step side to side.
When you can not keep walking,
start dancing instead.
When your hands lose their grip,
Letting go’s the best option.
Falling down, face-plant forward,
Outstretched hands in the mud.
With scraped knees, scarred with blood,
You’ll be ready for prayer.
Prone and humble — off-duty —
Crawl, run, walk, fly in Beauty.
“The path is narrow
but The Way is True Life
Fear not! Lift your hands!
Be upheld. Stand upright.
Give your hand to a stranger,
in your weakness is might.”
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What can I do when my eyes grow dim?
Know that hope needs no more
than one pin-prick of Light.
Your webbed-systems are dust —
past your fears, you’ll find trust
that while all else may fail us,
Love never will.
And though now we glimpse darkly,
Joy is God’s mystery.
Someday, we shall see.
“I AM in the Creator,
and the Creator is in me.
We are called to be Light —
The Light of the World.
Take good news to the nations,
Our redemption is nigh;
Our redemption is here.
As close as our heart,
As close as our breath,
As close as God in us,
Holy Spirit — Be.”
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May the Peace of God’s grace,
Heal your sore, troubled mind.
May your mind in Christ Jesus,
Heal your blind, aching heart.
May your feet walk the straight paths
Even when sight has failed you.
May the palms of your hands
Be engraved with True Truth.
And each time you fail,
(as all humans must do)
May the oil of forgiveness
Multiply in your soul,
And be Light in all darkness.
And in Love’s deep embrace,
May you be free and Whole.
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All italicized parts are paraphrases taken from the Scriptures, words of Jesus, and the Psalms.
© Jane Tawel, 2026
Jane Tawel 