Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘God’

August Silence

Thank you, God,
For the quiet of early August.
The quiet streets,
The quiet mornings;
School’s not yet started.

The quiet neighborhoods —
People gone to their cabins at Tahoe,
Or on road trips, or plane trips:
Gone to weddings (or funerals) —
Gone to see relatives.

Thank you for the cool morning air,
All the better with the silence.
But birds do sing and twitter;
I hear airplanes in the sky,
And a mother’s lullaby.

Sometimes the earth has peace,
You can drink up the silence,
You can remember childhood days
Of endless summer,
And let today be your gratitude.

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Underneath His Sway

God comes to me in my grumbling
(Though surely I do not deserve),
Comes to offer His faithful love,
And for His love I have no words.

Nothing I do (or do not do)
Has bearing on His gracious love.
I’m helpless, hopeless, to be sure;
Still He pours down grace from above.

How can I learn to just let go,
And let the Lord God have His way?
Learn how to love, from what He does,
And be underneath His sway?

When will I learn that He controls,
No matter what things may portend?
Then I can be a little child —
Trust, peace, and His joy be my end.

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Refocusing

Tempted to wallow in bitterness,
Tempted to sink in self-pity.
Conflicts threaten to do me in;
Inner thoughts sometimes are not pretty.

Trying to live in reality;
Having to face what is painful.
Need to refocus, see God’s in control;
Refocus and keep being grateful.

Maybe I choose to be miserable —
Keep looking for all that is bad.
Neglecting to know that God’s in control:
Forgetting that God wants me glad.

Trust is the way to go forward;
Accept what I cannot control.
Let others be what they’re destined to be,
And live in my God-given role.

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On the Brink of Eternity

On the brink of eternity,
I pause and look behind —
The people known,
The work grindstones,
The things I owned —
What do they mean?

For nothing lasts,
And all must change,
And jumbled thoughts,
All disarranged —
Assail me.

Those people I looked up to
Seem to grow so small;
I don’t know them at all.

I cannot tell what God is doing —
What purpose does He have?

So many years ago,
All seemed bright and full of promise,
But gradually, the light did dim,
And now the world seems grim.

I cannot tell what God is doing,
But surely He lives —
As He slowly writes my story.

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A Different Path

This life is one of tears and pain;
We once get up, and fall again.
Evil, sin, seep through the cracks;
The heart of man — God’s peace it lacks.

And yet, with patient, open arms,
Our Savior calls us from all harm.
A different path He offers us —
Of peace, of joy, of deep’ning trust.

When evil grows, when peace is shattered,
Cling to the cross; His Love’s what matters.
Have patience, and with growing faith,
Let God be guide to glorious fate.

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And Thus in Heaven

How small I am
In Your immensity;
How ignorant
In Your luminosity.

Who am I
That You should care for me?
A wretched creature —
Yet destined for eternity.

How tiny I am
In Your vast universe;
And yet, invited,
With Your Heart to converse.

Participating
In Your joy and sorrow —
Through present, past
And all tomorrows.

In Your crosses, trials,
I can partake.
And thus in heaven
Your face will contemplate.

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Passing Through

Don’t hold on too tightly;
See the light shining brightly —
Let earthly things grow dim;
Hold onto life lightly.

Your wealth, your possessions,
But briefly will last.
What good do they do you,
When too closely grasped?

We’re just passing through,
And life’s but a gleam.
Just love for God and others
Makes worthy our theme.

We’re on our way through;
The world seems an illusion,
With dangers and snares,
Fraught with tears and confusion.

There’s just one exception:
The good that we live,
The love that we share
And compassion we give.

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The Good Thief

One of the criminals, a thief, who was crucified with Jesus, said to him, “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42)”.  Somehow he knew Jesus’ name and that Jesus had a kingdom!

Was Jesus that famous?  Did everyone in Jerusalem know about him?  Perhaps it was because of the sign above Jesus that Pilot had ordered placed there.  The sign declared, “Jesus, King of the Jews”.

In another gospel, it states that, “And the robbers who were crucified with [Jesus] also reviled him … (Matthew 27:44).”  Either the two gospels are inconsistent, or there was a transformation in one of the thieves.  He went from reviling Jesus, to, in effect, asking his forgiveness.  He realized his sin and that he deserved punishment, whereas Jesus was innocent (Luke 23:39-41).

It is interesting to imagine how “the good thief” came to this conclusion.  He may have known something about Jesus before the time of execution.  Or, perhaps observing how Jesus bore his own suffering, he realized that Jesus was not just a man, but God also.

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Covered Wagon

 

A modern covered wagon,
An RV just as long.
You rent it for a fortnight,
And bring your dog along.

You’re crammed into close quarters;
Your food you have to plan.
You bump into each other,
But trav’lin’ round is grand.

Your home is your conveyance,
The road leads on and on.
Sometimes you meet new people,
Or friends who’d said, “So long!”

You learn about your nation —
Its people varied, great.
Don’t stop too long or often,
Or for your camp you’re late.

Some nights you’re almost shiv’ring,
And others, sweating lots,
But all along it’s worth it
To see fantastic spots.

So come along and travel
In RV, car, or plane,
But don’t forget to walk along
God’s glorious nature trail.

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Insomnia

Can you hear the moon at night?
Its bright beams crashing in noisy light?
When sleepless eyelids long to rest,
With jangled thoughts – unwelcome guests.

Can you feel the soft night air,
The gentle breeze upon your hair?
At least in restless night you feel
Some hint of comfort, the air surreal.

And then beyond the restless fears,
Or aching leg, or head, or ear,
You find inside a solid place
That lets you sleep, with God’s good grace.

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