Days Gone Bye

The days that once passed so slowly,
have turned into years with hardly a pause
before the next year has come and gone.
 
Giggling children once played and chased
together through yesteryear seasons,
when shared innocence leapt into adulthood.
 
Many stories and events make up a life.
Each diverse from the other, each a unique
chronicle of growth, loss, joy and heartbreak.
 
Now I arrive at the place of recollection.
Plans are not as grand and hold less complexity
but are arranged for their ultimate simplicity.
 
We begin to see the past as an intricate plan.
All the unanswered questions of why things 
came about the way they did become known.
 
When vision grows dim, one thing becomes clear.
We see that our journey has a grander purpose
that can only be seen with seasoned eyes.


11/20/2016

Celestial Knowledge

The crescent moon forms its smile,
the stars twinkle and wink.

They stand aloft and far away,
with the knowledge of a better day.

The Spirit At Work

Down the canyon corridor,

over rock and dessert grass,

travels the undulating wind.

Pausing only to take a breath

before commencing its aspiring 

journey toward the unknown.

It brushes our cheek and tousles our hair,

before leaving us with the sense

of a growing distant dream.

It is the spirit of God, caressing the soul,

guiding us to believe

there is so much more to learn.

We stretch out our open arms 

to catch it's mighty power,

as it sweeps it way through earth.

Never to be captured and held still,

only to be seen at its work

in sculpting a delicate new design.

11/11/2016 

Higher Still

Within the meditations of my spirit,
I hear the whispers of your sweet voice.

In the sanctuary of my quiet heart,
I breathe in the fragrance of your presence.

As the hind finds its path on rocky steeps,
I reach beyond all pain and fears. 

To seek thy face much higher still,
away from covering darkness here.

Awake my soul to morn's new peace,
to walk the street where tears will cease.

Ride with me on rainbow's brilliant crest,
along the shores where freedom rests. 

Amid His garden's lingering glow,
ne'er again to dwell below.




11/6/2016

Another Season For America

Spring, a time of beauty when the days were fresh and new. The trees budded in the morning's light and the leaves burst forth in vibrant green.  When the sun glistened on the dew that watered the sucklings as they grew. Each day brought forth a kaleidoscope of dazzling color on an earth in harmony with its maker.

Then came the heat of summer, a new season, where flowering things now called upon the rain or watering hands to prevent their withering. The gardens cried out for others to clear the weeds and thistles that threatened their very lives. We witnessed the earth's first fruits and were satisfied that our labor was not in vain.

As summer faded into fall the silent leaves began their fluttering dance to form their mosaic masterpiece 'neath tree and sky. The wind took a deep breath and began to exhale, cooling the now naked trees as in preparation for harder times ahead. The slowing down and the silence that is the essence of fall seems to lend itself to meditation and preparation. A prayer for winter's blasts.

Now here life stands. Another season. Another time of anticipation, awaiting the unknown before us. The winter promises to be as no other. Did we prepare? Will this land of the free still remain? Will the wheat fields still sway to the anthems of the past?  Is our time of plenty over, and we stand only as a season that is now past, as a candle that gasps for breath in the wind?




11/07/2016

Pool Of Self-Pity

The enemy of our souls speaks no truth. There is no truth found in him. I know this, and yet the darkness seems at times to tell the truth, and I allow myself to listen. 

I have been struggling, of late, with this overpowering, heavy spirit. I seem to have hurt a couple of people with my words. Totally unintended, but nonetheless, hurtful. You know how it goes, when one thing goes wrong the devil piles it on until you feel that nothing is going right. And you allow yourself to sink into a space of darkness that seems preferable to the light. And here I am sitting in a pool of self-pity.

Of course, I'm out here in the country where I house-sit. It is very quiet. Most of the time this is exactly what I want, but when things are dark I find myself feeling very much all alone, listening to the reminders of all my failings. Trying to remind myself of what I am so quick to remind others:  You can't go by how you feel. 

You must go on what you know about who you know. 

Whenever the voice of condemnation speaks, I know it is not the voice of God but the enemy trying to bring me down. And yet I linger in the dark, as a form of self-punishment, I guess. unfortunately, Self-pity then invites his brothers to the party and Doubt shows up, along with Blame and Impatience, as well as many more negative brothers as I allow.

Okay, I see what's going on. Time to turn on the light. Thank you Jesus for waiting here with me. 


10/28/2016

My Prayer

Dear Lord,
 
As I come to you on the morning of a new day, teach me to acquiesce my stubborn will for your will.
 
Give me the courage to abandon self for the betterment of others.
 
Give to me, oh Jesus, the strength to be weak in your hands, allowing me only to be still while You fight the enemy on my behalf.
 
Grant me the wisdom to know when to speak and when to let silence rule my tongue.
 
Let my words never be drawn from the well of humanity, but from the river of life.
 
Open my eyes to the view you see and not through the world's dark glasses, to see the beauty in all your children, regardless of what seems to be in appearance or action.
 
Give to me, this day, the ability to accept the gift of joy you set before me allowing the filling of your love to overflowing.
 
Be my heart's ever faithful guide, my mind's appointed wisdom, and my spirit's boundless praise to the glory of Your holy name.
 
Amen


10/31/2016