Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. – 1 John 3:2

Once upon a time –
Or many times upon a time, I’m sure –
A child pooped while in the bath.

“Clay of my clay,” they thought,
and with the smelly umber made new art
upon the tiled walls,

Until the laughing, grossed-out parents
scrubbed it all away
and washed it down the drain.

We are your children, God,
imperfect still, inclined to build
our lives with grosser stuff than poop,

Uncertain when we’ll know just who
and what we yet may be,
and when we’ll be that one,

And when our grand creations stand
the press of soapy sponge and water,
to please ourselves and you.

A poem/prayer based on 1 John 3:1-7, the Revised Common Lectionary Second Reading for Year B, Third Sunday of Easter.

The photo of a bathtub is by L.M.Arias – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17573377.