Tag Archive: moments


Morning Oblation

Each morning, Lord,
I come over the hill and see
The vista You’ve laid out for the day.
Sometimes, it’s bright and sunny.
Sometimes, it’s cloudy and overcast,
But whatever it is, I am fascinated
With the way You paint the landscape.
The foggy mornings with a bit of sun,
Peeking out between multi-colored clouds,
Make my favorite scenes!
The rolling hills alternate with smoky valleys
Till Your handiwork hides all the buildings
That mar the image of a grand wilderness.

Every morning, Lord,
I am reminded once again that You,
And You alone, are the source of beauty—
That You only can delight my soul
With the peculiar twist of something unnamable,
Which no person has ever quite given me…
Joy unspeakable, perhaps, but in a quieter sense.
Here, I am replete with contentment,
Sure of Your goodness.
Here, I contemplate and meditate
The brief moments I have for Your new view
Before I am forced to turn the wheel and
Refocus on the drive in to work.

Thanks, God, for the pleasure of Your presence
In the exhibition of Your exquisite earth!

This Time Around 12/23/2011

The year seems to fly by so fast anymore.
I wish sometimes that I could just yank on the reigns,
Stop the wild horses from dragging me along…
For me, savoring each moment takes extra effort of will.
Before I know it, I’ve missed
More moments than I’ve noticed.
The minutes, hours, and days, sneak by at top speed
Like the roadrunner zipping past the coyote.
Now I look around at my kids, nearly all grown,
My grandchild just born… almost three years ago,
Time is such a thief!
Yet, today is still today.
I cannot count the yesterdays.
This Christmas soon will be tomorrow’s history, but
I’ll not leap ahead in thought or the clock
Will catch up with me even faster.
A moment to treasure, with all its shortcomings,
Is better lived with passion than
Wished away for the next day’s pleasures.
I celebrate today with all the joy I can muster,
Finding contentment in the arms of my family.
We laugh together and anticipate the fun
Of watching each other open presents, devour food,
Or just sit quietly smiling in the midst of the
Wrapping paper storm that fills the living room.
Music saturates the atmosphere with the reminder—
Above all else the day belongs to Christ,
Who in the end gives us eternity to enjoy one another.
He breaks the bondage of time’s iron-sharpened passage.
By His very existence, He split time in two.
Soon time will end; eternity will take precedence again;
And the moments will stretch as long as we want them
Without fear of losing the things as precious
As the childhoods I have somehow missed
This time around.

Out With The Old Stuff

You confuse me.
Some days you act so belligerent and angry.
Then before I realize what’s happening,
You treat me with civility and courtesy.
It leaves my head spinning and
My insides churning because
I never know what to expect.
I don’t understand you at all.
 
I don’t think I ever will, if the truth be told.
I can only be grateful for the peaceful moments,
Let go and forgive the angry ones, and
Be thankful I am no longer with you…
I only count the moments now
Until the kids are grown and I can
Let it all go behind me with the rest
Of the clouded confusion and anger.
 
In the meanwhile,
Today only reminds me again
How deep this old wound is
To still make me shiver with fear,
Then tense with angry, runaway thoughts
Of all the imbalances and inequalities
I still have to endure at your hand,
Whether politely or otherwise.
 
Dear Jesus, help me breathe again–
Out with the old stuff and unforgiveness,
In with all Your grace and mercy,
Remembering that what You gave to me,
I must give to others.

I Type On

My fingers meander over the keyboard leisurely
While my thoughts follow along…
Sometimes slowly…
Sometimes tripping over each other…
It doesn’t matter how, only that they do.
Meanwhile, my fingers keep wandering,
Wondering what will come next.
There are moments when it seems
These things just write themselves.
At other times, every word is a struggle.
Nevertheless, I write. I must write.

Occasionally it feels like
Compulsion rather than inspiration,
And I wonder why I bother doing it,
But the satisfaction in the end result
Is like a carrot on a stick,
Or a fresh baked cookie just out of the oven
Smelling sooooo… wonderful,
I can hardly wait to finish a piece
To get that taste of accomplishment.

On the other hand,
The pleasure in the process keeps me
Putting more words down on paper—
Well, at least figuratively anyway.
I like the gentle rhythm of speaking,
Because even when I say nothing out loud,
The words sound in my head
Like a speech or a song, or even…
(And here I laugh behind my hand)
…A poem!

Next project on my list:
Write a new poem,
And another,
And another…
Because I can’t “not write.�
Folding my hands and thoughts into stillness
Is very difficult for me.
So I’m content to let my fingers
Tap out random thoughts and words
For now.
Eventually they will shape themselves
Into some palatable form.
In the meantime,
I type on.