Written by Natalie Lantz
Broken but whole
The crumbs linger,
body broken.
The wine stains,
blood spilled,
Holding body,
holding blood
in hands that
don’t carry scars
but in hands
that hold the body
and drink the blood
of the hands that
bear the scars.
This piece speaks of Communion, of the reason why we let the wine burn our chests and the bread dry our tongues.
It speaks of Communion, but also of something more than that because it speaks of our relationship with Christ. With the man whose blood dripped from His hands and feet from nails driven into the flesh as He hung there for us.
For this reason, for love, I write. Because if I am writing, I am worshipping. I am worshipping, because I am using gifts God once placed in my hands and placing them back in His.
The more I step into these gifts, the more I realize I spent my entire life thinking worship was centred around singing in a church auditorium.
As I put pen to paper and turn poetry into prayers, I’ve begun to understand that there is so much more to this concept of worship.
I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember. I read whatever I could get my hands on as a child, desperate for words. Now I’m the one who is writing the words. These words are here to bring glory to the name of Jesus.
I am reminded of this because not only am I using the gift He gave me, but I’m also forced me to slow down and see Him through the words on the page. I see more of Him when I write.
I worship, and am reminded how much He loves me.
Creativity feels like a void sometimes. Writing, painting, singing—we use these things because we enjoy them. We enjoy them because they are all good things.
But we can see them as more than just something creative to do; these things hold weight within them. They hold weight because they are gifts to be given back to the God who first gave them to us.
I like to think God is creative. I mean, have you seen the sunsets and sunrises He paints morning and night? In turn, He has given us these gifts for something more than just to fill the void, more than just something to do. He has given them for worship.