## 95:1
%% 5
> The Rock of Our Salvation
>> Oh come, let’s sing to the LORD. Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!

Occasion: Singing with joy again

The song has been gone a long time, Lord.
My mouth knew the words,
but they lay there like dry bread.
I remember how joy sounded
but not how it felt.

This morning I feel one note rise again.
It is small, and I am almost afraid to trust it.
Part of me wonders how long it will last,
or whether grief will swallow it again.

Guard that small note.
Let joy return at its own pace.

I don't want to fake it,
or force a smile over old grief,
or distrust the good because it has seemed absent.
I do not want to question every gladness
until it disappears.

Give me place to sing before I can explain it.
Let me receive this moment
without demanding that it heal everything.
Let my body learn gladness again ---
breath,
voice,
unclenched hands.

The song has been gone a long time.
That silence has cost me dearly.
Thank You for this one note,
and for the hope of the next,
and the next.

Amen.