To hear that others’ grief
has been made
a skosh more bearable
from a brief encounter
with some literary wrestlings
from our own deep loss and ache,
feels not only
like another blanket
we can pull up
when the grave’s chill
makes another unannounced return,
but also like
a bond of friendship
that not even death can sever.
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and
today and forever.
Yes,
Jesus remains the same,
day after day,
forever and ever.
The crucial component
of his sameness
that we mustn’t miss,
however, is that
he is constantly
and forever calling us
to set aside who we are
and how we live,
in order that divine Grace
may be given the opportunity
to more completely unfold
Mercy, Justice,
Peace, and Love
into every square inch
and every relationship
of the community
of the cosmos.
Yes, the
“Forever the Same” Jesus
is inviting us to be
continuously transformed
into a Christlike
neighborhood of his
“New Every Day” followers.
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
There is but one vowel
in the word church;
one soft voice
that binds five consonants
into ecclesiastical existence.
It is “u.”
Yes, “u” are
an essential part
of what holds it all together.
Make sure, especially
in the oddity
of these strange, divided times,
that “u” are participating
in ways that give meaning
and hope to all
who gather and serve
in whatever ways they’re able.
© 2025 Todd Jenkins
I know it’s guardian angels
that we all request,
both for self and others, O God;
but what I really think
we’re desperate for
are guiding angels.
Rather than hunker
in our bunker,
what we need —
what the cosmos needs —
are angels to show us
the next step, and then
to hold our hands
as we take it.
Send your angels, O Lord;
send your angels!
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
Vibrated across vocal cords,
in shapes, patterns, and styles
understood by cultures,
or at least by someone
whose eardrums twitch,
they attempt to connect minds,
if not souls,
by painting verbal images
across the atmosphere.
There comes a day, however,
when verbosity arrives
one too many times,
and at least one conversant
recognizes the need
to let the silence do the talking.
This is the day…
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
Torn out, old flooring was found
dumped into a small cemetery.
What, pray tell,
were the perpetrators thinking?
“The long-dead won’t mind.”?
“Their descendants probably don’t even
come by here anymore.”?
But I saw, heard, and felt
something different;
something more:
a message from the trees
whose lives were taken
to make the flooring:
“Forget the gold-paved streets
that we’ve been convinced
line the paths of eternity.
It’s sister and brother tree
who lay down their lives,
so that a smooth surface
can be provided us,
and all who came before us;
not merely to get from
one place to another,
but also to dance,
as we sing the harmonies
of hope.”
Do you hear the music?
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
Ah, yes; maybe
learning how to love
requires not that we
face our own death
with trumped-up bravado.
Perhaps it demands, instead,
that we begin to recognize
both the insignificance
of our own single grain of sand
on the beach of eternity,
and, much more,
the infinitude of grace
that needs, knows, and loves
the very speck-ness
of who we are, unconditionally.
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
At first breath,
it sounds so gentle,
like a delicate flower,
subject to destruction
by the brutality
of sun, wind, and/or rain.
It’s not until we catch a whiff
of its overpowering scent,
and its diamond-like
strength and beauty flash
before our eyes,
that we begin to realize
that its gift is
so deeply enmeshed
in the marrow of godness
that no one anywhere
or anytime could ever
hold a candle to its splendor.
Its gloria magisterium
is unveiled when
we begin to understand
gratitude and generosity
as the sole highways
on which we can pay it forward.
Matthew 15:21-28
clearly indicates
even the incarnate one
needs a passel on occasion.
Grace.
Let ‘er ride!
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
To write it another way,
author-ity,
or the action
and understanding
of the author.
To have authority
is to be so deeply
connected to
and enmeshed in
the story
that we can see
and influence
what happens next.
It is the capacity
to convince other characters
to willingly participate
in creating
a perceived outcome.
There is but a single
true authority,
but sometimes we’re able
to function
on the author’s behalf
within the chapters
in which
we find ourselves.
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
“Do the best you can until you know better.
Then when you know better, do better.”
Maya Angelou
The road to a fool’s paradise
is paved with the egos
of all whose view
is always down their nose.
I keep thinking that
we know better,
but we aren’t doing better,
so I guess not.
Ignorance is often thought
to be a lack of knowledge
and/or understanding;
but sometimes it’s simply
choosing to ignore
what we don’t want
to acknowledge:
ignore-ance.
© 2026 Todd Jenkins
