This fragile shell is where I live.
I built it myself. It wasn’t easy.
First the hurt,
Then the pain,
Then failure in turn, then darkness.
All done in by neglect.
And so I built it all by myself.
Now this fragile shell is closing in.
All of the hurts and pains. The darkness.
The failures – are in here with me.
And the neglect.
Oh, the neglect.
I have neglected to see that
There is so much more
Outside my fragile small shell
And yet…
Somehow I have made a crack
in my fragile shell.
No, wait… That wasn’t me!
Someone is outside tapping
on my fragile shell.
But wait! My hurts, my pains,
My failures, and the darkness,
They are all leaving…
GONE
I am alone. No – I am not.
There is someone in here with me.
He is waiting, but for what?
Oh, for me to step out of my fragile shell.
But the light – it hurts my eyes,
So used to the darkness,
Now blinded by the light.
He is still with me,
An arm around my shoulder,
His hand holding mine,
Walking away from my fragile shell…
But wait…
My fragile shell that I built,
I need it to protect me!
He turns to look at my fragile shell,
And turns me, too.
It is dust and gone.
Standing in its place –
A candle
burning
brighter than the sun.
A voice so loving and so gentle says,
“I am the LIGHT.
Follow Me!
The fragile shell
you built to shield you
became your prison.
Those things that hurt;
the pain,
the neglect,
the darkness,
were all holding you in.
Follow Me!
Now I hold the Light,
Oh, it is not as bright as the original,
but I hold it in my hands.
I hold it.
