Graced

On the first day of the month of my birth,
I sat back and felt the sun on my cheekbones.
Then it rained-
a steady drizzle rolled down like broken beads.
  
I pulled out the scorecard for self assessment-
there was a pass mark,
here and there.
But where I failed, it was a woeful fall-
I learned to rise,
took note of what tripped me over,
the unhidden roots.

Today,
I clothe myself with a garment of praise,
thankful for another year gone by
and many more to come.

I, too sinful a creature to knock on Heaven's gate,
embrace grace, the mercy that renews a life.

Speaking as the eighteenth child of a man who once walked the earth,
speaking as a daughter now adopted by the Most High,
speaking as a friend, sister, and my mother's daughter,
speaking as to-be wife,
a rebellious-dreamer, a doer,
speaking just as I be- graced-
I thank the LORD for looking beyond my filth,
for not giving up on me.

I thank the kind hearts who have taught me to climb steady,
and be still, when chaos peep through the back door.

With a strength renewed like the Eagle's
wrapped with a fresh God-confidence,
I step into a new dawn,
graced to bear good fruits, I fear not.
I have come to know, there is a God who never fail.