It has been over a year since I posted anything on my blog. I imagined I needed to produce something different and fresh for my blog whenever I wrote. Since I had so many writing obligations, adding one more was too much. This week, I decided that if I were to keep this blog, I would post writing I had done for other purposes. The most regular brief pieces I have done were for the creative writing group I attend. Each week, we are given a prompt as the focus of our writing. These vary, sometimes wildly. By posting the new and the old, there will be quite a variety. Below is the one written for this week’s meeting. The prompt was “entangled gift”.
TWO IN THE SAME PEW
On Sundays
They walked through the same door
They sat in the same pew
They read from the same book
"the gift of of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord"
One wanted to earn and payback
The other received
One was there out of duty
The other out of love
One worked to be accepted
The other knew acceptance
One toiled for affirmation
The other rested in it
One served out of duty
The other out of love
One found it easy to judge
The other found no need
One gave begrudingly
The other cheerfully
Each week they went to work
One promoted self
The other promoted others
One sought leadership
The other led by serving
Their neighbors watched them
One repelled them
The other drew them
Their children lived with them and grew up
One's children ran to escape
The other's ran to embrace
They grew old
One feared death
The other welcomed it
For one God's gift was entanged with works
The other received it by grace
"For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing;
it is the gift of God, not a result of works,
so that no one may boast."
One had religion
The other a relationship
The Bible quotations are found in Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8-9.