If salt has lost its saltiness

If my salt has lost its saltiness 
will the sun still rise in the morning? 
If my fire has lost its spark 
will the moon still hang pale in the afternoon sky? 
There are days, Lord, not to get salty 
with you, when I might feel 
as though the ocean has rolled me 
and the pestle has crushed me 
and I am granulated, smattered, dissolved. 
And not to get heated, but was it not you 
who promised not to break the bruised reed
nor smother the smouldering wick
so that when I am at my wick’s end, 
you understand, it is you –  
when I am not worth my salt, 
it is you I rely on to season me with light, 
with spice. If salt has lost its saltiness, 
how can you season it? With respect, 
my Lord and my God, 
I think that is my question to you.


“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” – Mark 9:49-50

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About Rosalind C Hughes

Rosalind C Hughes is an Episcopal priest, poet, and author living near the shores of Lake Erie. After growing up in England and Wales, and living briefly in Singapore, she is now settled in Ohio. Rosalind is the author of A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing , and Whom Shall I Fear? Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence, both from Upper Room Books. She loves the lake, misses the ocean, and is finally coming to terms with snow.
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