by Andrew Taylor-Troutman

So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ~ Luke 18:22

may be to sell all possessions for the poor,
to foster a youth, start a non-profit,
to helicopter aid after a storm,
to get down on one knee with a ring,
to quit drinking and stay sober,
 
Or a long obedience in the same direction,
daily choosing the path toward peace,
though many a step exacts a biting cost,
walking down the street heart first.
 
There was Granddad, seated at table,
the grace handed down from his childhood,
now his grandson catching a few words—
“these Thy gifts… from Thy bounty…”

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Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of Gently Between the Words: Essays and Poems and pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 

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