STAY IN TOUCH

People say that staying in touch is easy these days

phone lines everywhere,

internet sweeping city to city,

even stamps readily available in any post office

for the neighborhood letter writer

to select the perfect one

out of the season’s newest designs.

Yet how can we stay in touch

when seemingly everything,

yet nothing at all,

is happening right here and right now

swirling around and enveloping me in a cloud.

And how can we stay in touch

when all I want to write is:

I am here.

I see you.

I am here writing to you

and I hope that you see me too

because I want to tell you stories

of what happens each week.

To illustrate for you pictures of small, beautiful moments

That bring me joy

And tears streaming down my cheek.

Each night I dream of the distance here between us,

all the miles

stretched out across the earth.

I dream that

“staying in touch” really meant

that I could feel you here

as all time and distance fades away.

Maybe tomorrow will bring us closer

I will hold onto that hope for just another day

Courtney Anne Henry, MAPT/MDiv Dual degree student

Breath Prayer for Holy Saturday:

Breathing in:      when I am weary & waiting

Breathing out:   inspire my dreams

Breathing in:      in the long in-between

Breathing out:   new possibilities emerge

This blog is part of a 16-piece series for MIGRATION & HOLY WEEK composed by the students and instructors CTS Contextual Immersions J-Term 2022 Courses on Immigration at the U.S.-Mexico Border. Because of COVID, both the planned travel seminar and the virtual seminar joined for a fully online zoom-based two-week seminar. Instructors compiled, edited the offerings into this series.  We hope that this series that integrates our studies and themes of Lent will pose questions for all of us to contemplate and respond to in our life of faith.