the kingdom of God is on the move

6/20/2011. Encinitas, CA
the kingdom of God is forever advancing. it doesn't stop, detour or lull. it doesn't take holiday. it doesn't take weekends or vacation - it doesn't want sick time. it don't pause. it doesn't sit still in waiting rooms or linger. it doesn't get hung up on theology or wait for theodicy. it doesn't hide on election day, or at last call or in the midst of apartheid. it doesn't wait for me to wake up - though it's waking me up. it doesn't wait for me to get moving, though it gets me moving. it is always in 5th gear, burning 65 mph 'round town, around curved roads, 'round the heart, farming landscapes like a drunk.

she neither tires, nor stalls. i stumble out of bed in the morning, she's never in bed. never sleeps - wide eyed at 3 am in the white street lights. I have nothing to give. She's always giving. I need a beer and a wind down. she pulls me over for a sobriety test. hands me a cup of black coffee. she puts air in my lungs. blows em full, like a sail.

i start running with a tail wind behind me - in me, around me. "don't stop," she whispers in my ear. "not on long weekends, or in the twi-light, or when you can't move anymore. not at road blocks, not when the road dead ends, not at death, not even when you're in bed with the flu. don't stop when you loose, when you're loosing, when you've lost. not when you're broke, not when you're broken like a twig. not when you're last, not when you're past due. don't' stop. rest, be still, but don't stop," she says.

"the kingdom of God is on the move."