On jagged cliff
I stand on edge.
For love of God
I take the chance.
Or stand at start
Of tunnel dark
And enter on
A somber lark.
I walk the rope
Twixt light and dark.
Upon His word
I must embark.
I cry and cry,
I moan and sigh,
And then He says,
“Just trust Me now.”
And like a child
I take His hand,
Beginning now
Adventure grand.
I’m waiting for that day
When He returns
In bright and shining glory.
I’ve got to tell the story
How He loved me all the time,
But I — confused in mind.
He always walked beside me,
Tried every way to guide me,
But there was no way I would see.
Couldn’t seem to grasp His story
My ears were stopped, and surely
My eyes were blinded too.
I walked in deepest darkness
Lived life in blackest starkness
My heart was frozen.
Now He leads me through the night
I look to Him for light
Like a little child.
“A hunter sometimes makes his dog suffer — for instance when the dog is caught in a trap, the hunter has to push the dog further into the trap, to lessen the tension on it, before he can get him out. That hurts, and [the dog] can’t understand what we can: the mechanism of a trap requires this push further in that causes such pain because this is the way out. God does the same to us sometimes, and we can’t understand why he does it any more than the dog can understand us.” Peter Kreeft in “Making Sense Out of Suffering”.
Your tears water God’s garden,
Your sorrows make God’s house strong,
Your joys light up the heavens,
Your triumphs give glory to God.
Every sin cleansed brings virtue,
Every wound is made less,
Every weakness now strengthened,
Every failure, success.
Death becomes life now,
Illness — good health,
Ugliness, now beauty,
And poverty, wealth.
Fear not in the darkness,
It will soon be dispersed,
And His glorious victory
In your life be expressed.
Love is patient,
Love is kind —
Let God’s love possess your mind.
Love’s not boasting,
Love’s not proud —
Let us sing His praises loud.
Love’s not jealous,
Love’s not rude —
With forgiveness it’s imbued.
Love rejoices
In the truth —
Love forever does endure.
Love doesn’t give up,
It doesn’t lose faith —
It’s never early, never late.
Always hopeful,
Always free —
Love is our true destiny.
When dreams are dead
Men lose their heart,
And, like dead men,
They fall apart.
Inside, unseen,
Their souls like stone,
Bear calloused wounds,
Exist forlorn.
Let not dreams die —
Still deep inside,
Quench not the fire
Of hope alive.
Let Love somehow
Heal deepest wounds.
Let Jesus’ love
Break open tombs!
Then shout, and sing,
Our voices raise!
Hosannahs bring
In humble praise!
Go out onto the water;
Yes, take the first brave step.
No doubt cause you to falter,
Nor look in water’s depth.
Climb up onto the summit;
Go forth one step each time.
Fear not, and you’ll not plummet —
The view will be sublime.
Reach out to many hurting,
One person at a time.
Though you don’t feel worthy,
God’s love from you must shine.
Go forth into the darkness,
Though you do not know the way.
There’s death and there is starkness,
But His light will be your stay.
Keep on, though you are weary;
Make your eyes look up above.
Your goal, which is God’s heaven
Will heal your heart with love.
Wow, I really love getting responses to emails. If I write to people, I sometimes absolutely crave getting a response, anything to show that it meant something to them.
I guess we are made to communicate, but we all communicate in different ways. Sometimes it seems much easier for me to write to someone than to call them on the phone. I don’t fear their rejection as much when I write. Go figure!
But, I think as humans we all need to be responded to, so much so that as children at least, we would rather receive negative attention than no attention at all.
On pondering all this, I wondered what it is like for God when I don’t respond to Him. How many times a day is He telling me He loves me (through nature, other people, His word, etc.)? When I feel hurt by someone’s non-response (and usually they have a very good reason – I am NOT the center of the world, after all 🙂 ), perhaps I need to reflect on the times I have not responded to God or to others.
Just something to ponder.
I’ve retreated
To a quiet place;
Just need my space.
Too many things
Are coming at me;
I cannot think.
Different voices,
Different choices;
Who’s telling the truth?
All sincerely,
Intensely believing;
Is someone lying?
Focus on Jesus,
He’ll never leave us.
Our mighty God!
clarakatalin 
Our Purpose in Life?
In recent years, I believe my purpose is to show the love of Jesus to others. And yet, lately I thought, “If I’m lying unconscious in a hospital bed, how do I show the love of Jesus to others?” Perhaps sometimes, our purpose is to receive the love of Jesus or let others love us.
I really believe each person is loved by God and was put on earth for a purpose. “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) A blind, deaf, and dumb person may have a purpose — perhaps he or she is used by God to teach others compassion.
I would love to hear people’s thoughts on this.
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Christian, Commentary, Jesus
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