The Yoke

Lots of people are in pain. Some of them are my friends who are distressed because of serious illness, loss of love, marriage breakdown, worry about their children and worry about their parents. The thing is - where is God when we're crying? I'm not a theologian or a philosopher but I've come up with one answer: He's on the cross, suffering too. I wrote this poem and recently gave it to a friend facing chemotherapy. I want the last verse to be true.

How do you walk though the corridors of my life?
Are you ahead
Beckoning with an urgent hand
Demanding, impatient
Weary of my indecision and faithlessness?

Or are you behind
Pushing, cajoling
Forcing my feet over uneven ground
Ensuring there is no retreat?

Or are you alongside
Encouraging, teaching
Setting the even pace
Laying a steady arm across my shoulder
Taking the weight?