The Odd Gift

Reflections

This poem begins by describing a crisis. Someone is clinging desperately to the edge of a ledge with slipping fingers that are barely able to hold on. The indifferent wind symbolizes cold, uncaring forces of the world that can push us over the edge when we’re vulnerable. These forces might be ill health, financial loss, broken relationships, or the indifference of others.

But then something unexpected happens: tomorrow comes — you find you didn’t fall. Against all odds, the individual survives. What carried them through the crisis? An odd gift, which this short poem identifies as faith.

Faith isn’t something that can be explained. In fact, the poet admits, It makes no sense at all. Faith defies understanding, yet it sustains us. This is its beauty and mystery: it is beyond our limited human intellect.

Faith may manifest itself as an unexpected strength that carries us when our own strength has run out. Don’t try to analyze or explain it—simply believe.

Affirmation

I allow the gift of faith to sustain me when I cannot stand on my own. I do not need to understand it—I choose to believe.