Mommy... Where's God?

I've been working through many things lately. I don't quite know where I am, and yet I'm right here very solidly in me. Recently I went for a very tired cross country ski to get out into the wisdom of the woods. To my surprise I ended up doing a full loop of the trails. You could say I was drawn up the hill. As I slowly climbed I could feel my being settle into that familiar peace that comes in the natural world, particularly in the company of these pines.  The thought that I have been on a pilgrimage of sorts drifted into my mind followed by the sweet, warm memory that this poem is about.

 Mommy…. Where’s God?

 I sit uncomfortably
in a house of worship
that is not familiar to me,
my four year old son
in my lap.
He cranes his neck,
looks up at a large, ornate cross
hanging over an alter that
seems so very far away.
His sweet, innocent voice
reaches my ears with
a whisper,
“Mommy… where’s God?”
His wonderful father,
my soulmate,
sits next to my shoulder
holding our
two year old daughter.
He turns to me with
a knowing smile,
 blue eyes twinkling,
an unspoken question of,
“So, how will you answer that one,
my love?"
And, without missing more than
 a few beats
I hug our precious son,
his blue eyes searching my face,
and say,
“God is here, and there,
and everywhere.”
In that moment,
that answer is enough.
And we,
the four of us,
settle into the love
that binds us
just a little bit more.

Sarah Carlson
March 18, 2021