Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘God’

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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Before Time

“And God saw all that He had made,
and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31a)

———————-

He saw you in His endless dream,
Before a man and woman met —
(No matter if they married were,
Or married, but not loving,
Or married happily, mayhap)
Before a man and woman met —
He knew you.

Before the stars wheeled in the sky
Or crickets sang their lullaby
Before the moon was in earth’s sky —
He knew you.

Before the wind rushed through the grass
Before a still lake shined like glass
Before the young man met his lass —
He knew you.

Planned before the universe
Planned before the poet’s first verse
Planned as blessing, not a curse —
He planned you.

Not a random speck of dust
Planned with care, not in a rush
Surely know this truth you must —
He planned you.

Resting in His mighty hand
Be you poor or richly grand
This truth you now must understand —
He loves you.

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God’s Providence

If You did not my soul inflame,
If You did not fill lungs with breath,
If You did not my mind engage,
Sure, that would be my sorry death.

Without Your spirit, none can live,
E’en those who do not yet believe.
It’s by Your providence, I know,
There’s reason to rejoice, or grieve.

We cannot understand Your ways;
We grope about, sometimes in ruin.
Or graced, find better ways of life —
But death, the whys will then illumine.

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Scattered Dreams

Why, in scattered dreams do I
Remember childhood fantasies,
Of growing up, of painful times —
And also happiness and ease.
Who can give the why, wherefore?
Who can know why life is spent
On fruitless searches, till the time
God’s grace on other road does send?
Am I to blame for all those years
In ignorance and darkness spent?
Or must the drama take its course
For story to have happy end?

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