Global Currents article

God is Getting Tired

Children walking by a destroyed mosque in the Gaza Strip. © 2009 UNRWA Photo by Shareef Sarhan.

It’s clear that God is getting tired
They worked so hard to keep that child alive under the rubble
For six days until she was rescued
But then They couldn’t save her from that 2000-pound bomb

It’s clear that God is getting tired
They spent so much energy keeping a mother and her twins healthy
Through an entire pregnancy and birth amidst a genocide
But as They took a breather thinking that the hard work was over
All three were killed in an airstrike

It’s clear that God is getting tired
They worked around the clock keeping a man who had lost three limbs alive
And it seemed that he was out of the woods
When the hospital was bombed and the building collapsed on top of him

It’s clear that God is getting tired
The prayers are not even reaching Them anymore
There’s just so many that They have simply given up
Like when you reach a certain level in Tetris
And the blocks start coming so fast
And for a time, you frantically move around the pieces in an attempt to maintain a semblance of control
Until at some point you just put up your hands in defeat
Recognizing that the end is inevitable and there is nothing more you can do

It’s clear that God is getting tired
That God is tired
That God has been tired for twenty horrifying months
For 76 horrifying years
God is tired and defeated and They’ve decided that it’s time
To vacate Their home in the sky and move down to a tent in Gaza

God is there now
Ready to die alongside Their people
In Israel’s next airstrike

Thandi Gamedze
Thandi Gamedze is a South African educator, theologian, cultural worker, and poet based at the University of the Western Cape’s Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice as a Senior Researcher. Her doctoral research was transdisciplinary, bringing together the worlds of education and theology to better understand the role churches play in both upholding and challenging dominant power relations relating to race, gender, and class. Thandi’s interests include black theology, liberation theology, social justice, education, and the arts – particularly poetry. She has broad experience working across multiple sites, including churches, universities, high schools, and community organisations.

One thought on “God is Getting Tired

  1. Thanks for this, Thandi. Completely on point and devastatingly so. Absolutely zero doubt that’s where we find Jesus…

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