The Gift of Desperation

inspired by Just for Today, NA

I came in tired, torn and bare,

A shadow limping through stale air.

The walls I'd built began to crack—

No strength to fight, no way back.

Desperate hands once reached for more,

But found just chains behind each door.

My silence roared, my pride had bled,

I lived but walked among the dead.

Then voices soft, yet firm and true,

Said, “We’ve been right where you are too.”

And in that space, I dropped the guise—

No more excuses, no more lies.

Despair had carved an open space

Where I could meet the truth with grace.

I found no shame in asking “How?”

But strength in choosing here and now.

That gift—despair—had cleared the way

For hope to rise, for light to stay.

And just for today, I choose to see

The soul I lost is now guiding me.                   

  —Written by:  Jonathon Koerner