Keep Reading

Keep Reading

When the lights flicker out,

And hope is but a memory,

Keep reading.

Remember that things

Look messy in the middle

Of any good tale.

Don’t curse the story

Even when the pages are

Damp with tears.

Because light shines through

The grayest chapters.

Dear reader,

Keep laughing.

Keep dreaming.

For in the end,

Good will triumph.

---

Story behind the poem: I wrote this a piece little over a week and a half ago to submit for the 2023 edition of BCTC's literary journal. It might be one of my favorite poems I've written. Like many of my pieces, it deals with disappointment and suffering, but the overarching theme is hope.

You might think the second stanza sounds familiar. That's because it's from my poem "In His House: Part 2" (actually, the quote is originally from one of my novels, Freedom for Captives). When I wrote "Keep Reading", I wanted to express many of the themes of "In His House: Part 2", but without using overtly Christian language.

Life is hard. But I'm so grateful that because of Jesus, we can live in overwhelming hope regardless of our circumstances. He is our restorer and healer, and through Him, eventually "all will be well". To tie everything back to the themes of Lent, God has always been writing a redemption Story, largely through the lives of human beings. Astonishingly, this is a story in which each of us gets to play a key role.

Praying that this poem encourages you, friend!

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

- John 16:33