The Heart of Stone (from Exekiel 36: 24-28, NIV)

"I will take you out of the nations;
I will gather you from all the countries
and bring you back into your own land,
I will sprinkle clean water on you,
and you will be clean.
I will cleanse you from all your
impurities and from all your idols.

I will give you a new heart 

and put a new spirit in you.

I will remove from you your 

heart of stone and give you

a heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit in you
and move you to follow my decrees and
be careful to keep my laws.
You will live in the land I gave your
forefathers; you will be my people,
and I will be your God."

Who moved the stone
that morning in the tomb.
It was rolled away, rolled away
for good.

Heart of Stone.

A rolling Stone.
That is me,

Seeking.

Thinking.

Listening.

Hoping.

I look inside my heart 

and see judgement

where I need to see acceptance.

And my heart is open to change.

God, create in my heart a 

new song,

a new song for Easter.

Remove the old fears,

for fears should not hold us back

from what is best for us.

It is right to keep pressing forward.

And so I press

forward,

toward the land of my ancestors.

my father and mother.

My great-grandfather who

fought in the Civil War.

My grandmother Birdie

who comforted her mother.

My father, Albert,

barely 19 when he entered

the First World War.

Tomorrow

I leave,

for my homeland,

Virginia.

Virginia.

The sound of it

rolls off my tongue like honey.

I will see the mountains again,

and the beautiful valley.

God, let any sadness from

my past fade like 

the fog of the morning mist.

Let my heart be full

of thanksgiving and 

praise,

and let me be a blessing

during this time

of celebration and reunion.

While I may not live in the land

forever,

I will be in the land

for a time.

A time with family

and old friends.

For I will be in the place of 

my childhood

and there will be rich

stories to bring back

of the people who

were happy to see me, who loved

me then,

and love me now.

And now I am back