While You Were Waiting...

While I was waiting for my life to start
the days and the years
came and went.

While I was waiting for something better,
the blessings I had were
laid out before me as a grand buffet.

While I was waiting for my big day to come,
the wind and the wheat blew;
friends called me over,
and the anticipation built up to a
high-flying peak.

While I was waiting for my child to come,
the sights of young mothers filled me
with joy overflowing...
and I dreamed of hearing my child's heart beat...

While I was waiting...
life carried on and presented itself
in glory and anguish;
flowing in grace
and calling me to fellowship with the Father...

While I was waiting...
He gave me life that I was waiting for.

"While you were waiting" I could hear Him say...
"I was preparing the paths ahead; adjusting and
moulding you to take the next step. While you were waiting
I was there beside you...waiting for you to acknowledge Me.
What joy to my heart it was when you looked for Me, child...
knowing My hand was in all that you saw..."

Layers

One
by
one
the layers
peel off...
exposing to
daylight
their spots of decay;
ripping off
tender shoots of seeds
planted in once fertile soil..
...layer after layer..
darkness
and
light
coexisting much too comfortably;
neither strong enough
to take the lead as the layers continue
falling...
until the core reveals newness of life
replanted by the Maker's hand.

Strength to Strength

From strength to strength
and glory to glory,
The Lord leads us on
towards the prize
and the pastures.
Each step taken
on faith in spite of feeling
propels each wanderer
on the way...
to the life
...to the next step...

From strength to strength
and glory to glory,
the Lord leads us on
to discover His heart;
the longing He has in His heart
for our hand...
...to have fellowship
with Him
and the joy of the brethren...
gloriously sharing our lives
in His heart.

The Stone in His Hand

A feeling of power
rested in the palm of his hand;
holding the smooth stone
led him to feel superior
to the object of his derision...

She was an object;
delegated to the realm of damaged goods
and devalued in his estimation
with trial by jury neglected
...out of a misguided sense of justice.

"Vengeance is Mine saith the Lord"
the Bible did say, didn't it?
The memories of sunday school entered into
the forefront of his thoughts...

Still, he was justified in throwing the stone.
She had sinned; really messed up this time.
Her example would prevent her from doing it again,
and send a message to those even contemplating
wandering into the degradation of human flesh.

His girth made throwing difficult;
and then there was that nasty habit of blasphemy...
His temper made him hard to live with;
leading his family to tread on delicate ground
...just to breathe easily...

The warmth of the Savior's love
made it through one of the cracks in his armor;
melting the ice and length of chain that
held him captive to sin in his own right...

Down he fell and let the stone tumble to the dry earth.
His eyes looked up to heaven in entreaty;
speaking the volumes his heart was unable to verbalize...
and flinching in acknowledgement of his own falls from grace.

Rejoicing in the God of All Comfort...

"It is not because things are good that we are to thank the Lord, but because He is good."-Hannah Whitall Smith from The God of All Comfort.


This throws the gauntlet down to my flesh when life's mountains seem insurmountable. The passages that deal with praise in the Bible are numerous, and yet can seem hollow when we are blinded by our emotional states. Human weakness and the limits of our understanding can chain us to the dark side of the moon. Praise breaks us out of those chains and propels us towards the joy of the Lord; which is our strength.

I admit to being an emotional creature with marked intensities and a streak of the melancholy firmly rooted within the constraints of my personality. The Lord has His reasons for creating each of us with our temperaments, and we often fail to thank God for His wisdom in giving us what we have in that department. The grass is always greener; careening our gaze towards comparison with others and thinking that their temperament gives them an edge over us.

In light of today being the day that the Lord has made, I am going to try to rejoice in the God of all comfort. Lifting up that sacrifice of praise will raise my dry bones out of the grave into the awareness of His presence.

Have a cup o'joy,
Lynne

Mouse Bites

The mouse
in the crevice
saw that sweet morsel...
abandoned by human resign...
...the smell,
the aroma
rose to his nostrils...
enticing his taste buds
to propel his feet towards action.
("Seize the day" he'd often heard
in unprotected pantries).
Launching from his haunches,
the mouse
tasted the thrill
of capturing joy...
for human loss had provided his dinner...
to satisfy hunger;
raising his hopes of
finding more...

Thursday Night

Clutter of bills...
mountains of laundry
building
the
giant
felt from within...
cluttered perception
jaundiced by worry...
approaching the spirit that
cowered within...then shouts of
Organize!
Organize!
taunted the pale one...
...besieged,
...tormented...
...nettled...
...distraut...
and wondering how the divide would be crossed...
...Peace, Be still
uttered the Savior;
extending His hand
to the creature in awe...
for awaiting the child's
response to His leading;
His gratified pale one accepted
His grace...