We Stragglers: What I Would Have Told My Former Self

I wrote this poem during a time in my life when I felt very miserable and alone. I felt like a stranger in a strange place, unloved, unnoticed.

Nights were the worst. The silence and the darkness forced me to relfect on my situation and my fears; these bitter thoughts turned into restless and dark dreams.

One day, I wrote this poem. It started out as a way to release my confined emotions, but as I wrote, I felt a shift within myself.

I am not only one here who has felt that way: lonely, uncertain, lost. That is why I wanted to share this poem with you, to remind you that no matter how you feel, Christ is here to shine a light on your path.

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We Stragglers

We stragglers walk a lonely road

That winds beyond our sight,

With only stars to shine the path

That leads into the night.

We are young, our hearts are cold,

Our friends are far away.

The wind beyond the mountains blows

The fading light of day.

Do You see us, do You care?

We stragglers with the mark

Of loneliness, inside of us,

Hidden in the dark.

We are here, we still exist,

Though silent we may be.

Perhaps one day, the world will know

Perhaps one day they’ll see.

But they don’t see us, they don’t care,

They speak with empty words.

Their eyes are dull, their laughter forced,

They walk in swarming herds.

But do You see us, King of kings?

Do You hear our cries?

Do You feel our lonely hearts,

The tears within our eyes?

Oh, if You do, Lord, if You do,

That’s all we’ll ever need.

So help us do what we should do,

And follow where You lead.

We stragglers walk a lonely road

That winds beyond our sight.

But Christ is here to shine the path

That leads into the night.

_________

Looking back, I would tell my younger self this: The world has all sorts of people. There will be people who are unkind, people who make us feel uncomfortable, and people who just don't like us.

Yet many people out there are like you and me, people who want genuine conversations and meaningful relationships. And when we will find these people at the right time, God will give us the the courage to seek them out and talk to them, to remind us that amidst challenges, there is still beauty, wonder, hope, and light in humanity in this unpredictable world.

But throughout it all, no matter how the others treat us, let us find our solace, hope, and haven in God.