The Valley of Shadows

Tossed by tempest and near drowned,
swallowed up by the cares of life,
in the belly of the whale,
we are left to dwell upon our desperate need.
In exhaustion, we open the clenched fist,
swaddled in meekness,
we encounter the paradox of grace.
For in God’s all perplexing wisdom,
the shadow of death is,
in actuality,
the very location of the Tree of Life.