I have a friend
Who shared with me
She prays about the big stuff
Never about the small details of her life
God cared from a distance His eye on the bigger picture
So she took care of the little stuff.
But I told her this story.

As a child
This girl’s father adored her
She lit up his world
Welcomed him to each day
Celebrated his every homecoming
Reminded him of the best in life.
Oh, how he loved his youngest daughter.

Her mother tolerated her.
She messed up her world
There was little she did right
So much she did wrong
She wasn’t wanted and her mother
Far from cherished her with anything pleasant.
There was no love exchanged between them.

At sixteen her father died
Her world suddenly vanished
Left her to an indifferent mother
And an overpowering sister
She was their’s to do as they wanted
And they decided her future between them.
To suit their needs to mold her to be like them.

At eighteen her sister chose a husband for her
A man willing to live with their mother
Someone to be head of household
As his wife she couldn’t go to college
They kept her in the life they determined
It never crossed their minds
To care if she was happy or okay.

She got lost along the way
But found herself again
Long after her mother was gone
And she was away from a sister overbearing
It was a slow process
As she pulled her layers away.
But she found herself and her children watched.

Then on the tip of transformation
Death extracted her from her life here
She left this world too early
And I think about her daily
My mom who prayed about it all
Big things, little things, all things.
Who with God withstood the peeling.

So to my friend who declares
She prays only about the big issues
God cares about all of you
Every gesture every word everything
Sometimes we have to persevere
Keep peeling away our layers even those unseen
For God’s right here peeling with us in the details.
                    d.f.a.v.  1/21/17
—Donna