Hope lies through death’s door-
Death to self, death to dreams,
Death to ambition’s striving efforts.
Hope hides in the heart
(Though despair thinks it has won),
Then blossoms like a rose with
The scent of love, the color of faith.
Hope brings new light to blind belief
Till all the darkness vanishes and
Clarity of purpose stiffens resolve.
But… One must be willing
To walk through death’s door,
To step from the finite into the infinite…
Farewell is never easy when the way has been so long,
But paths diverge and friends must part as time moves ever on.
We pause for just a moment to remember what has passed-
Hard work, good times, sweet sorrows, too, are memories that will last.
But time is inescapable, so forward we must go.
The next step isn’t easy, but tomorrow we will know
There’s joy in every journey even when the way seems dark.
Each time we meet along the path brings lightness to our heart.
Farewell is never easy and it makes my heart feel sad.
Good journey, friend, and may you find more friends to make you glad.
The yard outside is rife with Spring.
The newness shows in everything.
The conversation nature sings-
A symphony of joy.
The shoots of colors (splendor splayed)
Seem like a brand new masquerade-
A spritely dance of living things
We annually enjoy.
The birds converse and sing with glee.
The squirrels jump from tree to tree.
Their voices give the earth beneath
New courage come to life.
The flowers bloom and grass gets green.
The ground seems more and more serene-
Telling birds and squirrels to breathe,
To sing and play and fly.
I saw a ground hog waddle out.
The fellow was so strong and stout.
He walked around and went back in
As if he owned the place.
I’m filled with wonder and amazed
When Spring comes with its happy craze.
Regardless of the mood I’m in,
God grants me brand new grace.
I feel the sweetness of your mercy
Like feathers falling from the wings of love.
I rest beneath the breath of life
Blowing on my deadness,
Resurrecting pieces of my heart
Until I’m whole again–
United in a reverent fear of You.
Forgive me, Lord,
For letting all the stuff of life
Sidetrack my intimacy with you.
Still, in the ways you speak to me,
You keep on giving grace to grow–
Calling me to courage in my walk,
Despite the dread that plagues my heart.
You hold me still and whisper peace
Reminding me You love me anyway.
So many goodbyes
So many hellos
I’m weary of changes
Weary of losing loved ones
No energy to love new friends
But I keep trying
The gaps need filling
More absences
More additions
It’s all so confusing sometimes
Sapping my strength with cold
While the warmth barely suffices
But I keep moving
Just to stay alive
All the bare trees
All the winter blossoms
I’m torn between death and life
But bareness will blossom again
Winter flowers fade to spring colors
So I keep looking
Present life, future beauty
Somehow I praise
Somehow I worship
I’m mindful of Creator’s will
Relying on His strength in me
When I have nothing left inside
Still I keep trusting
Faithfully hoping in Love
Pausing just a moment for mental rest,
I find a small place inside of me quiet,
Waiting for Your presence to manifest
In a way I can grasp-body, soul, spirit.
It’s not often my soul stills itself for You,
As rightly I should do more in this riot,
But now, unexpected, I linger anew
Because deep inside I can hear it…
Your voice speaking softly,
You whisper my name-
Calling me closer, wooing my will,
Lord, help me to focus again.
His eyes are cautious, but his smile ready and broad–
My thinker, this one… third-born and deep as the ocean.
He speaks with careful honesty, not afraid to question–
He forces me to rethink my stuck-in-a-rut logic and
All the taken-for-granted answers require fresh answers.
When he speaks, I’ve found it’s usually worth listening to,
Though like any young teen he needs guidance and correction.
Still, I am discovering a new person in my son.
Like me, he sees with his heart, looks for the best, and
Hurts with frequent disappointment when people are human.
He is his own person, making his own decisions,
Quick to acknowledge his own weaknesses, and
Eager to try old things again, new things anew,
Never giving up hope and certain of his faith.
He has his faults and argues for what he believes
Even when what he believes contradicts parental instruction,
But he is growing and learning.
His delight in new discoveries is infectious, like his laugh.
I can hardly wait to meet the amazing man
God intends HIS David to be.
As sunset-lit moon rises up in the sky
While its colored dimness grows beautifully bright,
So we who belong to the King reigning high,
From glory to glory increase in Your light.
We’re reflections of You, Lord, with faces unveiled,
Beholding the glory of God in this place,
Displaying for others a glory much paled
Through troubles and trials with vision and grace.
Your Spirit brings freedom and light to our lives
As we bow our hearts and our wills to Your love.
“Light afflictions” teach faith as our outer man dies
While our inward man fixes our eyes up above.
Holy Spirit, please, help us keep turning to You,
For Your holy, eternal, glorious weight still renews.
[Note: I found this a couple of days ago. I have no idea WHEN exactly I wrote it. Maybe Sept. 2005 or July 2008. I don’t even remember writing it, except I seem to have just ranted on paper, put it in a Word doc, formatted it, and then emailed it to myself so I wouldn’t lose it. It’s definitely my style, and it’s just the word I needed to hear right now. ~Cara]
Life can be really difficult sometimes… and unfair…
And just generally unbearable in moments of crisis!
It has been so for me at least,
Not only on a personal level,
But for close friends and family as well.
I rail at what most people call fate, thinking,
“What did we do to deserve this???”
The answer of course is “nothing”.
The perversities and hardships come crashing in.
Everything falls all in a heap about our ears,
Heedless of tears and prayers and pleas for mercy.
Push the right button on each of us and we blow up.
Life blows up… KABOOM!
We end up making do with what we’re handed out
Or sometimes starting from scratch all over again.
The thing is that
Everybody has issues, stresses, problems,
Crises on various levels.
If you start talking about who deserves what,
Well, then, I mean, REALLY,
Who doesn’t deserve problems?
We’ve all done things wrong.
Nobody’s perfect.
We all make mistakes and bad choices.
Sometimes those have direct consequences.
Sometimes they have indirect consequences.
And (sigh) sometimes things just happen.
You run over a nail in the road and your tire blows out.
The nail was just there.
No one put it there on purpose.
You couldn’t see it and so couldn’t avoid it.
Now, you have to stop traveling
(Towards whatever goal you can name),
Get out, and fix the problem.
That, my friends, is where we really face the fire.
Are we bitter? Do we resent having to stop and deal?
Will we just keep going and avoid the issue?
Will we lose our temper, expending needed energy?
Or can we take our lump,
Focus our intellect and strength on changing the tire
(i.e. dealing with the problem), and
Thank the Father above, for a moment,
For the mercies we have on other days.
You know-
The days when the road is clear,
Our tanks and our bellies are full, or at least, not empty,
The weather is fine, and we can continue,
Unimpeded, on our journey.
So, life is difficult and unfair and sometimes unbearable,
But we’re breathing, aren’t we?
Every moment we breathe is a reminder
That our life is sustained by mercy and grace alone.
We can accept the mercy, stand on the grace, and
Extend that same mercy and grace to others.
Or waste our lives throwing tantrums-
Instead of moving forward with each new day.
The earth spins on its axis and
Lets us see the daylight dawning
With a brand new perspective.
God didn’t promise to deliver us from fire and water,
But He did promise to walk through it with us.
It’s been awesome realizing I’m not alone… ever.
By His Word, I am sustained.
By His Spirit, I am comforted.
By His Blood, I am forgiven and able to start afresh.
I dare you to try trusting Him if you haven’t.
You’ll be surprised at how much difference it makes!
I watch from afar
The bright shooting star
Streaming across the night,
Heart in my throat,
I’m watching it float
With brilliantly flaming light.
This time I know,
Although I’ve been slow,
That I have to let it fly free.
No catching its tail
(It really is frail),
But I trust Creator to see.
I see the star climb
Through distance and time
And prayerfully give it to Him.
He’ll catch every tear,
Keep drawing it near
As all shooting stars fade and dim.
He knows all star names,
Breathes new star flames
Setting them on the right course.
So I am content
To trust His intent
To draw all stars back to His Source.
