To God, near Father's Day

What does it mean for You to be our Healer?
Too long I have bounced my prayers off a low ceiling,
tracing the marks under a thin coat of paint
and feeling that You are far away from me and my troubles.

Too long You have seemed to me a father who doesn't write back
and whose number always leads to voice mail--
or who does call back, only to tell me to get it together,
leaving messages in hot-eyed preachers' mouths.

I want so badly to be close to You,
close enough to lay my head against Your chest
and hear Your heart singing beneath my ears--
the only sound that counts.

My Father, be my Healer now,
let me know the place Your Spirit lives--in me!--
and the strange wonder of being seen--and loved!--
by You. Let me hear You whisper,
and help me whisper back:
"Yes, yes," and always
"Yes."