Thank you to both Linda Mitchell, who is hosting our September Spiritual Journey reflections, and to my Nevermores poetry partner, Rose Cappelli who has this weekend’s Poetry Friday roundup. Please click on the links when you’re ready for thoughtful poetry and prose.
Standing In the Gap
This is a long post so feel free to take a pass if you don’t have it in you to read through my emotional journey in words.
Linda’s reflection about standing in the gap reminded me of a heart-wrenching article I read just after the horrific slaughter that took place October 7th in Israel. In Time magazine Yuval Noah Harari wrote:
The mind is filled to the brim with our own pain, and no space is left to even acknowledge the pain of others…
It is the job of outsiders to help maintain a space for peace. We deposit this peaceful space with you, because we cannot hold it right now. Take good care of it for us, so that one day, when the pain begins to heal, both Israelis and Palestinians might inhabit that space.
What do we do when words don’t come,
when prayer goes missing, when hope feels lost?
Harari turned to the world, to us.
By sheer grace or luck or both – I will never experience the horror that has played out since that day. Yet, the genocide continues…CONTINUES! The victims do not need my outrage. They need me to stand in the gap – to believe in the possibility that humanity still lives, somewhere –and that it will rise, that WE will rise and make some effort to bridge this chasm. They are asking, begging for us to hold on to, to maintain a place for peace. Surely this is the least any of us can do, would do –for those who cannot.
Linda’s reflection got me thinking about who else in my life needs me to stand in the gap. Who needs to be held because they cannot stand? And, when I find myself at a loss for words, low on hope, high on despair, who do I turn to?
The faith I grew up with, that carried me into the pandemic, told me this is God’s work. But I seem to recall somewhere in my theology studies that God has said over and over to us: You are my hands and feet. Something about Do unto others…
Our Poetry Friday friend, Tabatha Yeatts periodically spotlights what that looks like. She calls it Bravery. Linda has named it Standing in the gap. Both are ways of saying: Find a way to help.
Two weeks ago, I traveled through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and was reminded by a local tour guide of the power of collective will. In 1989, the world took notice when two million Baltic citizens joined hands to protest ongoing and illegal Soviet occupation of their countries. Within 2 years, all three countries would regain their independence. I am simplifying their long struggle for self-rule and the historical complexities they faced. But it was another reminder that hope is worth protecting.
stand in the gap
they linked hands
in peaceful protest
two million people
across three countries
to show the world
the power of unity
and collective will–
a fight for freedom
and human rights…
it’s time again
to stand in the gap
©draft, PJF
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Thank you for sharing your peaceful and deeply reflective thoughts, Patricia. Hopefully we can all find a way to stand in the gap. XO
Thanks for your poem and reflections. Yes, standing in the gap, keeping hope alive are things we must continue to do. The joining hands protest of 2 million (!) Baltic citizens is amazing! It feels good to read your words in this space again.
Yes, I love the story of The Baltic Way. So much respect for those folks and their hard-won freedom. I’ll share a quote from our own Heidi: “Give thanks for the lives with space in them to bring along the broken, the expired, the hopeless, the neglected.”
Beautiful. Beautiful.
It is definitely time for all of us to unite. We can’t keep going on this way. I dread listening to the evening news because there is so much sadness. Your poem is a reminder that we can do better.
Patricia, what a beautiful reflection. I am simply amazed and what can come from one idea…all the reflections on standing in the gap have increased my faith. Amen and thank you. Thank you so much.
Patricia, yes, others need us to stand up for them just as we need others to stand up for us when we can’t. There is power in peaceful unity. As you say, we are God’s hands here on earth and we must act as such. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Bob
Patricia, standing in the gap is a call to action. As you said, “WE will rise and make some effort to bridge this chasm.” We means many who believe in unity. There are many on earth who still need to have support. Are we ready to stand in the gap without strife? That is to be seen. Thank you for your thoughts and poem. Being a collective group of humans need to address what to do to bring peace locally, statewide, and worldwide.
Thank you, Patricia. I love this concept of holding space for peace…