Alive

You and I, we are so alike,
With similar flaws inside our minds we think many of the same thoughts;
Our actions are influenced by motives like emotions and beliefs
And our messy lives that somehow wiggle into everything.

You and I, we have the same look in our eyes;
I know you have memories spiraling deep inside,
A thousand regrets and a thousand things
You would do over again if you could
And believe me, I would too.

You and I, we have traveled the same road,
A road we were afraid to follow but I guess we really had no choice,
Because we were born with blood in our veins and steady, beating hearts
Which meant we were alive,

Only not just alive but alive as humans,
Born with open, reaching hands
And blinking eyes exploding with color,
Skin so soft and clear,
Mouths with which we make so many sounds
Like laughter
And weeping
And speaking.

See how far you have traveled since then?

I know you have
Hands sporting calluses and sun-kissed arms,
Hair stiff at the tips and circles under your eyes,
Scars and bruises and
Broken fingernails, freckles,
Maybe wrinkles when your face creases into a smile,
Gray strands in the folds of your hair;
Every mark on your skin hides a memory behind it,
And all of these things are signs that

You have lived.

You have lived
And you are living
And so am I, dear,
Because you and I,

We are human.

We are beautiful, beautiful beings
Created in the image of a beautiful Creator
With beautiful eyes and faces and hands,
And though in the midst of it we are so broken,
Though our skin is patterned with cracks that run deep,
Though we are stained with red streaks of all our mistakes,
We are loved by a Savior who renews us each day
At the hour we fall to our knees and lift our broken hearts
–With all those shameful cracks–
To Him.

You and I,
We are alike
In so many ways.

You and I,
We are human.

You and I,
We have lived.

We are not done living yet.

And so we stand together as we paint this beautiful messy canvas called life,
Because our fight is not finished and the war is not over,
But you and I, we will make it through.

We will finish the race.

At the end we will stand with our God and raise our voices in praise,
And you and I, we will be able to say,

“I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the race.
Here is my story,
For I have lived.”