Do Not Invite Them In For Tea

Yesterday, I saw them coming up my path, the “Ds,”

                a whole busload of them.

They stopped right in front of my house,

                  set the parking brake,

       and came pouring out,

one by one,

Despair,

Distraction,

Disappointment,

even Defeat and her twin sister Deceit.

I could tell it was them,

      wearing their t-shirts emblazoned with sequined words

      “never” and “always” and “no one cares.”

And in case I had forgotten,

they carried in their hands old newsreels

             of failures and hardships and sins already forgiven.

They paraded in front of my house, seeking entry,

             like distant relatives and unwelcome acquaintances.

And I recognized them for the foes they are.

       “You are not my friend – don’t even pretend to be.”

       “I do not belong to your tribe.”

Do not invite them in for tea.

Bolt the door and banish them.

Hold forth the Truth

                 from which they recoil.

And cast them to the curb

      with the garbage where they belong.

    They are welcome here no longer.

And above all the din,

     I hear the voice of God Almighty,

          Maker of heaven and earth and me,

speak the Truth that slays all my fears:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name,

           you are Mine.

When you pass through the waters I will be with you,

and through the rivers,

                  they shall not overwhelm you,

when you walk through fire

                  you shall not be burned,

         and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the LORD your God,

      the Holy One of Israel,

                               your Savior.

…Because you are precious in My eyes,

and honored,

                    and I love you.”

                                      Isaiah 43. 1-4