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Enjoy the poetry!
So many things are changing, work is now an open book, and a period of uncertainty has begun
I’m now entering the second year of my degree
My family is changing, evolving, and new challenges arise. Yet I still feel secure. Lots of decisions are on the horizon, yet I feel OK
For with all the roles, all the challenges, all the hats I wear, all the layers of my identity, I am still who I have always been.
A child of God
When all starts to change, move, and certain steps move onto escalators rather than solid ground, when the lift of my life starts hurtling into unknown territory and the layers start to fray at the edges, I am comforted by the knowledge that I am still blessed.
All I have to do is raise my head, and look once more to Calvary, and then to heaven. For there I see my brother, my friend, my father and the author of my life
I won’t deny it’s hard to raise that head, to stop the dread, the rage and the pain, but it’s worth it. For it reminds me I am valued and I am part of a pilgrim life, a journey that has friends and loved ones alongside me, but is ultimately my own.
So often
We miss the sound
Of trees
Rustling
In the wind
The patter
Of the rain
On the pavements
Are we so blind
Behind the walls
The safety net
Of our lives?
From home
To work
And back again
Ever indoors
Never being part
Of the world
We inhabited
When shelters were just that
Not a permanent state of being
When did we decide
Being enclosed
Was acceptable
Normal?
When did we choose
To be apart from nature?
To dominate
Rather than steward
God’s creation?
Maybe
This is why we struggle
In the comfort
Of our walls
Of brick and stone
Yet flesh and bone
Was not designed
To be confined
My garden
Is how I am
Unkempt, surrounded by grass
And weeds
Yet still
Somehow surviving
Almost thriving
How can I be so comfortable
Making decisions that help others
Yet feel so broken, fragile
And unworthy
In spite of it all
I take comfort
From the fact
The one who made me
Loved me into being
Will protect me
And in time
Bring me home
To Him
Help me understand,
My life is in your hand,
And bid me cease my striving
For a peace
That is only found
In surrender
Speak to me
Of the rising of the Son
The new life He brings
The song we sing
As life awakens
And spring
Comes
The seed
Planted in the dark
Peeks out
Into the slowly awakening
New life
Seen in the ashes of winter
Whisper to me
Of the love
Ever present
Yet so much clearer
In the lengthening days
Somehow
In the desert that is my life
And the cave of my tattered heart
I lose my way
And lost
Search frantically
For warmth and comfort
Unaware of the fire of your love, ever present
Just a touch, just a breath away
All I need do
Is cease the pacing
The searching
The self-induced yearning
And turn back to the warmth
To the fire of your grace
Your love,
Your peace
And simply
Be
Isn’t it strange? When we struggle to pray, silence robs our expression
And here you are
I put you in a bag, leave you aside
Why do I do that?
You are my voice when words falter
Wood and steel
Strings that ring, calling me to whisper my needs to you
Wood resonates, and the words unbidden echo
In my soul
Like the melodies from you
need a voice
yours helps me find it
Maybe
Your presence
Makes me feel less abandoned
I’m not really sure
I just know
When I hold you in my hands
And you sing
I feel alive
Covid has stolen my expression
But yours still sings
Teach me
How to echo
Your melody
And begin
To remember
Mine
The road is long
And I’m so weary
I Long for home
And the love left behind
Can I dare hope
That I will be heard
My heart is spent
I must repent
And come to rest
Could I dare He could forgive
And once more I could live
For existing is all I do
Without my God
My life means nothing
Yet broken, torn
I’m straining to see
Those open arms
Ever stretched wide
Reaching out
For me
Could I dare
How could I return?
When all my sins
Burn scarlet
In front of my eyes
I am so lost
I have nothing left to prove
Nothing left to prove
But a stubborn heart
And a foolish heart
For alone I fear the night
That stalks my dreams
Sometimes it seems
The dawn will never come
So, yes, I will go
Return once more
To the arms of my Father
Repenting my stubborn heart
And my foolish pride
For no matter what I do
Or how I fall
He is my all-in-all
For He is love
And love is all
His children
Need
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