Girl from Moab

by Michelle Shelfer

Somewhere in the Book of Life

it is written:

that a girl from Iowa—or is it

Moab, or Ohio—

and not just any girl, but one

from a sleepy village outside Des Moines

who knelt by her bed for Jesus

before even she had lost her baby teeth,

that this girl should plunge headlong

into the barley fields of Boaz,

should find herself heartily welcomed to

the noisy wedding bash,

that she should lock eyes with Jesus

on the threshing floor and require to know,

“How in the world did I,

a girl from outside Des Moines,

end up in this line of living bread,

and—biggest surprise of all—I’m the bride,

wed to the Water Giver to boot,

and poised to deliver his golden harvest?”

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Michelle Shelfer, alongside her husband, Jerry, operates a non-profit called Prepare a Room Ministries, which seeks to help those hurt by abortion and the culture of death. She is an editor, animator, artist, poet, and author. She has been published in Ekstasis. Her poetic themes often center around motherhood and motherly loss. She can be found at michelleshelfer.substack.com/ and on social media at @preparearoom.