Jason Clark There Is No "Us or Them" at the Cross

My favourite part is when you were listing all the Jesus’s you aren’t friends with anymore. haha! So on point!

Interestingly, almost a year and a half ago, I wrote a poem with a similar title as your book. It ended up being published in David Tensen’s book “The Saving I Need.” I think the theme of it somewhat relates to this episode and likely, the theme of your book too. Although it’s a bit more personal to my relationship with my dad, who has chosen to separate himself from me because of my being a “heretic” right along with ya, Jason! haha. Here is the poem if you’d like to read it:

Letting Go and Finding

I wonder why I always felt
the heaviness of your happiness?
Why did I carry your weight
on my tiny shoulders?
If you’re happy, I’m happy … or so I thought.

A little girl could never anticipate
all the ways you’d find
to be dissatisfied
or all the scriptures
you’d never hesitate to use
as weapons of mass destruction.

A child could never predict
that the only way
to remain in your love
was to disappear all together
and cease to e x i s t at all.

Follow in daddy’s footsteps, they said.
So, I tried to bleed out
all that wasn’t right
by cutting my own flesh
but little did I know
you’d take it one step further
by cutting out your own flesh
and blood
and throwing me away.

A daughter of God,
made in His image,
can’t know her Father
when her father
has made god in his own image
and is not conformed to this world
but is transformed by the closing
of his mind.

What does your dad think? they ask.
Which dad? I wonder.
You? Who lives by the law
of stepping away?
or the step-dads who have
stepped up
stepped forward
and walked each step
by my side?

I wonder why
it took half a lifetime
for me to let go
and let you go
and go
to a Father’s lap
who loves.
And loves
And loves.
And loves.