The Book of Common Courage: Prayers and Poems to Find Strength in Small Moments

by K.J. Ramsey

Religion said sanctification meant making myself small. The church handed me scissors and commanded, Get to work. Cut away all the parts of you that are “flesh.” I became more scissors than a self. I swallowed a story of war as grace. I made my mind a general, barking orders to march hard. I declared corporeal war for spiritual gain. Truth against tissue. Faith against fear. Holiness against the heart. I named my skin an enemy to subjugate, my feelings foes to fight, and my desires rivals to oppose. I marched until I collapsed. What good is a Christian soldier marching as to war with the cross of Jesus crushing them into the floor? My body was never territory to colonize. But down on the ground, in the dirt and the grime, I could see past the lies to a riven side. Holes in hands spoke peace to mine. The scissors were never spiritual. The war was never divine. The truth was that this body was already a place with holiness inside. Sanctification is like stitching the sinew to the soul. And grace is but a thread sewing mind and body whole. The body is not a barrier between the Bible and belief. It is the tissue where tenderness can speak the truth in relief: your body is already the beloved dwelling place of God.