Written for a Lenten Live-Stream with Highland Baptist. Inspired by Isaiah 35 and the Tanzanian Guides who told us over and over again as we climbed Kilimanjaro in 2010: Pole-Pole.

Was it just yesterday that you fell down?
Or was it a thousand years ago?
Both feel true today.

Look! The crocus blooms stubbornly in the wilderness.
Now is the time for your rising.

Go slowly, dear friend.
We’re not in a rush.
Pole-Pole.

Feel every ripple of hope as it comes.
Give your eyes time to adjust, for everything looks different now.
Pole-Pole.

Patiently, gently you rise.
Strength surprises you.
Pole-Pole.

Joy is on the horizon.
A familiar tune comes to mind.
Pole-Pole.

Take this rising quietly.
We’ve got forever to make it.
Pole-Pole.

Move at tortoise pace and trust that
the momentum is the miracle,
not the speed with which you rise.
Pole-pole. 

Before you,
Surrounding you,
Within you,
Beyond you,
Here,
Right here
The Holy Way is emerging.

This is where you will practice resurrection,
In the rising.

Weak hands push against the ground.
Feeble knees bend and stretch.
Wounded heart beats loud in your chest.

Here you are, rising stubbornly,
Blessed with resilience in the wilderness.
Pole-pole.