Southern Charm

I watch and pray
In a standoff with the weight of it all
Every day the world tries my patience
Your body held hostage to its own decay

Waking up, are you even aware
Of all that seems so severe
Speaking faith with all my heart
Without the entitlement to cower in fear

Trying to find the balance
I parade my strength but I am weak
Desperation finds me here
Trying to choose my words more wisely
Learning when to be silent and when to speak

Honest cries of vulnerable display
Imperfect faith, critics comb through my every word
Tell me what is safe to say
When I'm not allowed to be broken
Taking it all in stride, everything I've heard
Humbling my pride, God have Your way
Heart sick and well-spoken

I won't live here in this place
Where death parades false victory
No venom, no sting
No glory in the grave
Life saving grace
Darkness has no hold on me

Sorrow in the offering
Crucify my heart to save
Channel living water through
Rivers of life in desert lands
As I turn my eyes back to You
I surrender and I lift my hands

Back to a place of dependency
Brokenness the catalyst to set me free
After all my ways have been exhausted
I'm at the altar on a bended knee

Standing yet a cripple for Your glory
This is not the end of the story
Finding the courage to believe
Despite what presents itself in the only evidence of what I see
I cry out and I'll keep knocking
With all that I am in reverence and fervency

Fickle feelings are a poor gauge for truth
When I have hope, I won’t play victim to this heartache
When the providence of love is its own proof
Then I'll believe even when its hardest to, for Christ's sake

Thoughts returning back to bedside monologues
Pleading to recover
The only southern charm is you
And I'm proud to call you my mother...