Unseen

A cluster of bodies.

Clamor to see…to hear.

Crushed all together,

Watching as the boat’s steered.

 

Hands over brows

Faces to sun

Yearning but sad,

To see no more that was done.

 

Watching oar break water

Backs turned toward me

Hurting, despairing,

Will He return and be…

 

Will He be the one,

The physician who heals;

Or will I go alone,

Walking shamefully still?

 

Heard rumors, stories,

Healings He’s done by power;

Want restoration, peace,

No more to be dour.

 

What more can be lost;

All is gone now?

Am unclean, impure,

Yet, I want, must believe, no loss, no how.

 

The shame, people fear my touch

Though nothing I can do;

Tried it all with no change

As I beheld each moon.

 

Washed and never dirty,

Still seen ever the same,

Unclean, deserted, shamed

Knowing, must believe, it can be changed.

 

Faith that all had been lost

These now twelve years past,

Dare I hope and not despair;

Are the rumors and whispers true, dare I ask?

 

Oh, murmurs like a raging river

Silence like chaos restrained,

Heart beats ever quicker,

Is it true, the boat’s heading this way?

 

Hands raised to brow

Searching, seeking for last hope,

Where will the boat land this time?

Is He even on the boat?

 

Heartbeats chase whispers,

The sound, a rapid rush;

Will this be the day?

My hope, my life, to have I must.

 

Gasp, catching my breath,

Be still, we may not meet;

Yet, the thunder of the tales,

Surely, surely, I must encounter, greet.

 

The bow beached, oars aglisten,

The splashing in me echoes,

Is this my time, I ask?

My heart cries, yes, step out. Go!

 

Still, I shrink back in the crowd;

They walk forward,

Then, I begin to think

Nothing lost; go onward.

 

From the back, pushing forward,

Touching arms and hips as I go,

Reaching out, just the hem;

I stretch and touch His cloak.

 

Instantly, I feel the blood runs no more.

At once, I’m not weak,

Not fatigued.

Hope latched-onto brought me peace.

 

In my solace, not agony,

Inside, all is renewed,

Considering the tales of this teacher

Renowned for His power imbued.

 

I hear His voice asking,

“Who just touched my cloak?”

I step back and tremble,

Stomach in throat and I choke.

 

He knew. How did He know?

None other asked who touched them.

But He knows and looks at me;

I’m caught; tell Him I touched His hem.

 

I fall at His feet;

In fear, I tremble;

What’s the cost; I have nothing?

What more can I possibly give?

 

Instead of reproving, His look shows love,

His eyes show the strength of His care;

He calls me “daughter”

And with His voice, I am spared.

 

More than social restoration,

More than my healing,

He said, “Your faith healed you.

Go in peace, be free of your illness.”

 

He addressed me;

He declared me clean.

I’m restored to the people

I can worship with others again.

I can go to the market.

I can wash my clothes with the women.

I can sit where I want.

I can be touched and hugged again.

 

Oh, the kindnesses I can enjoy,

But nothing e’er can surpass,

The greatest kindness given to me,

When the teacher came by me to pass.

 

The story I can tell,

Of the restoration He gave.

New health and growing belief;

He’s a teacher with power, and people wonder can He save?

 

Come to the teacher.

Hear and follow Him, too.

Come with your burden;

He can heal and make you new.

(Mark 5:24-34)

Opaqueness in Life

 

Halo opaque,

essence surreal

Breathe whispers promise,

Hope lingers there.

 

Rising the sun,

Fresh newness of day,

Brings bright promise

Of hope on the way.

 

Whispers slip past,

Worries flee the light,

Heaven’s sweet nearness

Caress rested minds.

 

Promising rest,

Weary soul’s retreat,

Breathing with ease,

Bright promises meet.

 

Waking on new day,

Crescent fire in sky,

Joy comes with morning,

They exhale, we’re alive.

 

Stepping through new day,

Noon, evening, too,

Life’s great pattern

Constantly true.

 

Hindrances step back,

New Conq’rer trods in,

Savior’s great coming,

Sin and death to suspend.

 

Once forever always,

Walk through golden gates,

Always a victor

With the Ancient of days.

 

Life transformed, new,

Heart bursts with love,

Christ forever, always

Redeemer from above.

 

Justified, forgiven,

Never held at bay,

Walking with the Savior

Forever and always.

 

Halo opaque

Brings no fear of night,

Creator made them,

No harm comes from His might.

 

All His creation,

Good, He called them all,

Welcomes you in love,

Saves from man’s fall.

 

For this He made us,

Relationship so dear,

Living with the Savior

heart’s beat….

breath’s sigh….

my Savior and me.

 

The Reward

The “end” is over,
Timeline erased.
Life ran o’er its course;

Heart completed the race.

One last beating.

One last exhale.
One final eye-blink.
Life ends its brief trail.

What more can be done?

What remains beyond?
Mere mem’ries recalled
At setting of sun.

A psalm said o’er life.

A psalm said o’er death.
Prophecy fulfilled,
Shepherd’s love begets.

Mem’ries of Shepherd’s love;

What was now and not yet,
Becomes now and always
As with Shepherd, they sit.

The Lord is my Shepherd,

Said with understanding in full.
He laid them down in green pastures,
Just as He led them by waters still.

He refreshed and restored them

And led them on righteous paths.
The Shepherd gave them peace and calm,
Walking with them, with His rod and staff.

Before eyes of their enemies

Made He a table for His own.
Anointed their heads with oil;
Son and daughter, He made it known.

Faithful and faultless,

Merciful and good,
The Shepherd never left them;
Through their days of life, He always stood.

Breath and heartbeat gone forever.

Timeline faded away.
Eternity stretched before them,
Because of the Ancient of Days.

Surely goodness and mercy followed them

Through the length of their days.
The “not yet” is now theirs,
To God, we now praise.

     For being their Shepherd,
     the One who gave rest and led.
     For being their Savior,
     their Restorer and Righteousness.
     For being their Conqueror,
     their Peace, Rod, and Staff.
     For being their Provider,
     their Defense and Holiness.
     For being their God
     all their days and night.

To them, all that was, their timeline ran out.

The days of their “not yet” have begun without end.

The reward of a life consecrated by God?

Forever hearing “well done” and eternity with the King,
Singing with the angels, “Praise God and Amen!”

In their lives, they sang with men.

Now with the angels, this song never ends:

The Lord is my Shepherd;

I did not want.
He laid me down in green pastures;
He led me beside still waters.
He restored my soul.
He led me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yes, though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I did not fear evil because You were with me;
Your rod and staff comforted me.
You prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies.
You anointed my head with oil; my cup overflowed.
Surely goodness and mercy followed me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.

Ventures in New Year

 

Snowflakes and beachside

Christmas world round

Reminders of love

From heaven come down.

 

Candles and carols

Wreaths and trees, too,

Reminders of God’s love

Heralding new year truths.

 

As reminder of the babe

Come down from heaven above,

God tells us our new year

Brings with it His love.

 

New years bring planning,

Hopes, and, for some, tears,

Yet seeking God daily

Gives peace without fear.

 

Troubles from yesterday,

Lost hope from the past

Weigh nothing with a new year

God is greater than that.

 

What comes with January one,

God knows it well;

The Creator of the day

Rules over the detail.

 

Nothing surprises

And nothing prevails

Against almighty God

Ruler o’er earth, heaven, and hell.

 

Nothing comes against you

That God does not know;

Nothing defeats Him

He’s greater than your foes.

 

No troubles or trials

Need overtake your faith,

For God’s already conquered

And for you made a way.

 

Hope, joy, and heart peace

God gives to His child,

As you venture through the new year

He, to you, has supplied.

 

A blessing of love,

To God’s children from His heart,

To give them all needed

To live strong with Him from the start.

Justice Demanded

Justice, people seek, demanding for them.

Railing, begging, striving, and bribing for their suit.

Claiming validity, for their “just” sake.

Unjust they be, though supposed claiming the truth.

Justice is my right, people declare.

Seeking to obtain it for themselves is their claim.

Wanting the profit and advantage from its reaping,

Shouting for justice, requiring, demanding it be made.

Justice, we seek, when we are unjust.

Claiming to be weakened, received harm from a hand.

Obtained unjust actions and words that have harmed,

We cry for justice for us; it’s for what we demand.

Seeking justice when we’re unjust seems unbalanced, untrue.

Why do we seek for our purpose that which we don’t bestow?

Striving always to be ahead, caring not for other’s lives now;

Wanting what we can get, uncaring what they are owed.

Justice we seek, we cry for, we plead.

Justice is not what we give, what we think, or what we heed.

Justice requires a person to be just, an impossible human task.

No one is always just, always right, sin makes sure of that.

Justness, rightness, can’t be defined by humanity;

God’s character defines it, the always righteous Holy One.

Humanity strives but fails to do what is right;

Weakness, temptation, sin separates and makes alone.

For this reason, humanity’s sin and God’s great love,

The Father sent the Son to live as man yet sinless to be the One.

The One who lived to die so sins may be cleansed,

The One who died so God would make righteous, just, everyone.

Justice we seek as if we’re the most important person alive.

Christ came and loved to show each His love and make right.

Nothing we can give nor anything we can do

Gives the salvation Christ gives, and, with it, eternal life.

Come as a child, nothing to give, no way to earn;

Righteousness from God comes by belief in Christ alone.

Jesus taught belief in Him alone, God’s love justifies;

What God asks of you is belief, for His grace makes you whole.

Justice we demand, yet justice we don’t give.

God demanded nothing for your sins to be cleansed.

He provided everything needed for you to be justified;

You pay Him nothing for the redemption price of your sins.

Though you owe God everything since your sins caused your death,

He paid the whole price, redeemed you, now you are fully cleansed.

Once you believe in Jesus as the Redeemer for your sins,

God’s grace and His cost are fully repaid as He welcomes you in.

As one of His children, cleansed, saved, redeemed,

Your only requirement is to answer the “Follow Me” of Christ’s beckoning.

“Follow Me with your life, with your actions, words, and thought.

Love Me, love your neighbor with your whole being, your whole heart.

Sell all you have, give to the hurt, lost, and needy;

Give your right to yourself to serve Me and others to eternity.”

These things Jesus taught as He spoke to the faithful, rich man.

The utmost he wouldn’t give though he followed the law of the land.

All that’s written cannot give you righteousness and peace;

Only through God’s gift, Jesus’ sacrifice, can we be justified, find justice, and all we need.

This all that God gives is eternal life and relationship with Him;

It’s better than all we can think, ever want, demand, or conceive.

It’s the ultimate of God, the source for all good things.

The definer of truth, justice, and giver of everything we need.

Justice we demanded and justice God gave.

At the cost of His Son by Whom we received His grace.

The power of death held no sway over His mighty power;

He rose from the grave and gave us cleansing and victory for every hour.

Jesus calls to us as we called to the judge;

“Justice,” I give, “with mercy and love.”

“Seek Me and find Me, I wait for you to come.

Believe in Me and receive from the depths of My love.”

Come to the Savior, Who for your life He died.

Come see the cross where He was crucified.

Give Him your life, your heart, everything,

And He will give you grace, justification, love, and all you need.

“For it is My Father’s will that all who see His Son and believe in Him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:40 [NLT])

“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63 [NLT])

Note: Read Luke 18 and John 6 for more understanding of Jesus’ teaching as referred to in this poem.

The River Between Us

A spark, a stir, and itch to scratch,

A need to write with no theme upon my mind.

Always thinking of God, about whom I write.

That theme, my greatest interest all the time.

I want more, reflect feelings, to call soul to soul.

Reaching out, reaching for more, want to know what;

Upon what should I reflect, write, offer a thought;

My mind queries, fumbles, grapples, deeply it sought.

Feelings available, at hand, there are many

On whom to focus, consider love, different with each one.

Sister, mother, brother, husband, son and daughter,

Each spark a primary color, the major flame, of that dear one.

Love, the balloon, around each family member,

Crackles, envelopes, embraces, as life evolves.

Rarely does a feeling burst the outer boundary.

Comfort, cushion, life’s safe-haven, love covers all.

When in time storms arise and we falter,

Seeking strength, steady hands and arms, hearts embrace.

Calling out in fear and hope, the light of love’s aglimmer,

Fainting, shaking, sweating, fear’s erased.

What one says cannot remove a life’s experience,

Even if strong winds and actions blur the lines.

As a son or daughter of God almighty,

Love’s never vanquished but stands the test of time.

Those strained boundaries of heart relations,

Bound and strengthened by the might of God’s hands,

Keep the love alive when hope seems vanquished,

Pulsing stronger as God calls His own to stand.

Reaching forward, grasping with His strength,

How can they be here at my deepest need?

God the Father, never leaves or abandons;

His depth of love flows through His child from His mercy seat.

No matter the pull or strain of a loved one,

God’s love still can flow through one straying, but never gone.

Each, if honest, recognizes this eternal truth;

For God is the Model of faithful, enduring love.

Though straying never snatched forever,

God won’t allow His child to be lost, alone;

Just as we turn our backs to Him and He loves us,

So we can love holding strong to our loved one.

Ruptured relations, broken hearts and promises

Don’t break ties forever with those we love;

Because God’s love is the river we share between us,

When in need, our relations know our love’s there to carry them on.

The DOOR

“The door,” He says, “I am.”

The way to peace.

The door is open.

Come, see who He is.

“The door,” whispers people.

“What is it for?”

“Come see,” says He, “Come to Me.”

Closer we come, step one, then two.

Walking, inching closer to see.

Breath held, unsure, inching closer still.

We whisper, “Who is it? What does He do?”

Going closer, to see, who can it be?

Hearing words, glimpsing heart;

What can it mean?

Drawing closer, we see, door open wide;

Blood on the ground, heart calling my name;

Hand on His side, one raised to call;

I hear, I see, curious I slip close to His side.

Looking, hearing, I recognize love.

Step one, then two, I enter in.

The door’s open wide, welcoming all to go in.

Calling all people, all sheep to know Him.

I look around and see life abundant and new.

Peace, rest, and strength provided for all,

Food, shelter, and love, why’d I never see Him?

Before in my life, as I walked outside the door,

I wandered sometimes hungry, no peace to find.

Stumbling in chaos, failing in strength,

The Shepherd still called, “Come home,” but…

I turned my head to see others instead.

Why would I choose to turn, walk away,

When love and grace came my way?

Rebellion, ignorance, deceit, I want my way.

Now as I wander through the door to the fold,

Peace, rest, and love replace

Fear, envy, and death.

Deep sigh, I expel, terrors no more.

The Savior, my door, welcomes me,

Saves me,

Loves me,

Calls me His friend.

The door is always open;

The Shepherd still beckons, “Come in.”

Why wander outside when He gives

Grace,

Mercy, and

Love for all who enter by Him?

“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:9-10 [NASB])