THE HUG POEM (no safest place but in the arms of God) by Bradley Hathaway

Got this book from a small bookstore years ago. It was a collection of  poems and this one's my favorite. Felt every single emotion contained in this poem. Had those moments, too. Moments when you feel your heart's so numb because of too much hurt, and all you long for is God's embrace, God's bear hug! 

It's kinda long, but worth reading till the very last word.

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I read about how You TOUCHED them, and they were HEALED

Or even if someone just touched Your cloak

they were FOREVER changed.

You let a broken woman bathe you feet in her tears

And You WASHED Your bestfriend's feet.

I'm just wondering, though,

Did You ever just HUG people?

i know it's a silly question and all i'm sure You would have

(why wouldn't you have?)

But it's one of those things that was never mentioned

and it got me thinking about it.

And how whenever there was a TOUCH from You

Sins were FORGIVEN and sickness fell.

I think i'm caught up with my sins

and last time i checked all my body parts are working

Nothing special here...

i'm just a kid with a HEAVY heart

these passing sunrises and sunsets.

i don't think our encounter would have ended up in Your Gospels

or anything...

because ALL i really NEED is a hug

that's OK for me to imagine, right???

that's not conflicting with any sort of theology, is it???

Okay good.

THEN HUG ME.

BUT NOT one of these sideways one-arm-around-the-neck type hugs

or the ghetto right hand clasp fists

elbows to chest,pat on the back

or THE you put your right arm over my left arm

and i put my right arm under you left arm

and we make this weird sort-of-diagonal thing.

NAW...none of those!

BEAR HUG ME, MAN!

Take Your old-school carpenter arms and

THROW them around my upper body

leaving my arms dangling underneath Yours somewhere

and i can barely move them.

because You're squeezing me so HARD.

and then HOLD me.

HOLD me in Your arms until i start to cry!

but i just can't seem to do it on my own.

i've been teary eyed once recently

but not even for a DRIP

Down my cheek

There's just HURT in my SOUL

that needs to be purged.

SO HOLD ME HERE

in this hugging pose

until the PAIN is FLOWING

from my eyes and nose...

-Bradley Hathaway