I Couldn't Save Him

I couldn't save him

Hard as I tried

Not from pain

or despair

depression

or fear

I couldn't save him

Hard as I tried

From a heart

that couldn't pump

or lungs

that couldn't breathe

I couldn't save him

Hard as I tried

From childhood pain

broken relationships

and shattered dreams

I couldn't save him

Hard as I tried

From my own fear

anxiety

and frantic attempts to control

I couldn't him

I couldn't save him at all.

God could save him

But didn't save his life

Not his first heart

or his second

not his body

or his breath

God could save him

And He did

In a deeper

more lasting way

God saved him

from himself

From small living

and shatter-able dreams

God saved him

from living for

approval

money

possessions

and status

God saved him

not from suffering

No, he saved him

through suffering

instead

God saved him

as only God could

and when it was time

He brought him Home.