Subtle Shades

Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. — Hebrews 6:11, NLT

They waited for someone to notice,

so tiny and, from a distance,

nondescript, a little sprinkle

of white barely noticeable

by even those who pause

and look, but when you truly

attend, when you take the time

to really see, you realize

an entire cycle of life, the bud,

the bloom, the stages from birth

through the closing in, you see

the subtle variations of color,

pale yellow and green and a vein

of a deepening pink, and I wonder

how much we miss of the lives

we see when we keep ourselves

on the rim of living, when we view

people from a distance without considering

the subtle shades, the nuances

of character, the beautiful differences

that make this life so meaningful….

Oh, God, how I pray to really see 

Your good, good earth and to open 

my heart to all the many variations 

of Your created and beloved people.

—C.L. Fisher, April 2021

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