Where is God

I am a man of constant sorrows

some times I feel like I

resemble that remark

and I would guess that I am not alone in my affliction

the pain of the world

is just too hard to get away from

it shouts at us from our televisions

as we see pictures of mangled limbs

and anguished parents

as we hear the wails of villagers in

Afghanistan

where a wedding became a funeral 

and watch the deadly chaos of Syria

But often pain is closer to home

we see it

all around

as people struggle with cancer

as young children get diabetes

as young women are raped and humiliated

and die at their own hand

we see it in poverty

and addiction

in mental illness

and emotional chaos

we see it in bad choices made

and consequences endured

sometimes in our pain

we cry

 "Where is God!"

Our minds race

to a myriad of questions?

Is there a God, a Sacred, a Something Greater

at all

at all?

Does that "something" engage with this reality

at all?

Does this power care?

Is that power out there, or in here?

Is the sacred merely a spectator?

call it faith

call it naivety

call it supidity

for me the only answer that works

the answer I come to

when I look long enough at the cross

is this 

God is here!

right here

in the midst of the pain

feeling it

participating in it 

going through it with me

making it bearable

not taking it away

but reminding me

that in the midst of it

I have all that I need.

It is within me

Spirit

yes

God