Spark of Faith

He needed a job. He was a Vietnam vet and barely making a living. His skills weren’t easily transferable to civilian life, but he was willing to work hard if it meant a safe place to live. He was hired to clean and maintain and he took his job seriously. Although he smiled and said hello, he didn’t invite people in, didn’t trust without cause. On rare occasions he would share a small piece of his story with her.

His transformation was slow and took place mostly in the dark, quiet hours when the doors were locked and he was alone in the peaceful sanctuary. One day he left a poem where she would find it, to let her know that his heart was opening.

When she saw him next, she gave him a smile and a word of gentle encouragement, and for the first time he was ready to hold a hand a take a step on the journey.

Faith
 
Faith is what saved my
soul
from the devil’s hands,
          from the soul’s
                   quicksand.
                                     
                     Intent on my own self-destruction
                                                for nearly half a century
           It was faith that allowed me
                                                to seek salvation.
 
                         Faith gave me the strength of heart
                                                          to know
                                        that I was one step
                                                      apart.
 
      Faith is what allowed me
                            to say “Father”
                                                          to a man
                                 I had never met;
                                                          the seed was set.
 
     Faith is what saved me
                             from Satan’s
                                           sensuous
                                                                   prison walls.
 
Faith  is what allowed me
          to ask about God
                   from the men in brown robes
                             and sandals;
                   Franciscan Monks
                             with candles.