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Sacred Spaces

This is a poem composed by Dr. Mark DeYoung. All the spaces, whether filled with joy or pain in families are sacred.


Families exist in all kinds of places and spaces
The space between birth and death
The space between a marriage and a divorce.
Grief and rejoicing
Attention and neglect
A father's hand that can be protective and possibly violent
A mother's voice that can be comforting and possibly rejecting 
The space between failure and success
The space between togetherness and lonliness 
Siblings who can be best of friends and worst enemies
Homes that can be filled with rage and laughter
The space between substance abuse and sobriety
Encouragement and criticism
Safety and injury
Being chosen and being ignored
Wounds and healing
The distance between these dichotomies is made sacred
For it is in these spaces families express and experience,
Life, Comfort, Mercy, Forgiveness, Grace, Reconciliation, Hope, and Love.

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