arms wide open

You were not perplexed

when I dragged my muddy feet along your carpet,

pulled my broken suitcase through your door.

You were not put off

by the dirt under my fingernails,

or the stench of my unwashed heart.

You did not frown

when I jumped all over your furniture

and pulled all the crockery out of your cupboards;

you saw me coming –

muddy, broken, rejected –

and leapt up, beaming,

running to meet me

arms wide open

and cried “Come in!

I have been waiting for you!”

I’d sent no RSVP in response to your invitation,

but you waited anyway –

staring over the distance

between us, watching

for that first small step.

And then you ran, feet slapping

hands clapping, clothes flapping

to meet me –

arms wide open.

You gave me new clothes to wear,

mended my suitcase,

helped me clean under my fingernails. 

You applied the ultimate stain remover

to my heart – grace

pure and undiluted,

applied with just the right amount

of loving kindness,

washing away the embedded dust

and darkness, transforming

the stale dullness and beginning

a new, re-created brightness

in me, until I could no longer

imagine

what I had been without you.

(C) Lucy Mills 2011

Used during welcome service.

Image: source unknown