Tagged: poetry

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Matthew 28:6-7 Today I visited the place where my loss once lay, Yet the tomb of my trauma was empty. Where death should have been Where I know it once was, There was no death to see.   The voice of the angel Startled me, Jolted me out of my confused reverie, Your loss has risen From the dead, Your Lord has gone ahead.   Now you rise, Wipe those tears from your eyes, Hope again, Run again, Go and… Read More

Written from a hidden ranch deep in the Kenyan mountains as my husband and I sat in Jesus' presence for examen among the wild creatures.   The Wildness of Your Presence   Sometimes Your presence is a wild place. Air thrumming with life Wildness As if I emerged into a sacred wilderness Where You and Your wild things Commune.   I am the tame one here, The one who thinks Instead of abiding, Who sits Instead of flying.   The common Kenyan pigeon Perches nearby Curiously appraising my composure, Inviting me to decompose.   Goats meander through A dry river bed, Their bells tinkling As they forage along the ravine. Your food is there waiting for them.   Monkeys chatter, Clamber along the acacia, Stopping… Read More

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. (Psalm 107:29-30).   Silence, you elusive friend; Doors are creaking, keyboards tapping, I can’t hear you.   Let me settle at the sunny table in the kitchen; Perhaps there I will find you for a few moments. No! Pans are banging, dishes clanging;  The annoying crinkle of plastic bags;  Hands searching for breakfast pastries.   Maybe in the corner of the living room, Here in this tiny dwelling, By the window; (Silence and sunshine please!)   Oh no! Not here. The whine of saws in the next room,  As builders make a wall, Or tear one down. The crash of planks outside, Dropped from the heights,  To the busy street below.   Where… Read More

No Scar?   Hast thou no scar? No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand? I hear thee sung as mighty in the land; I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star. Hast thou no scar?   Hast thou no wound? Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent, Leaned me against a tree to die, and rent By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned. Hast thou no wound?   No wound? No scar? Yet as the Master shall the servant be, And, pierced are the feet that follow Me. But thine are whole; can he have followed far Who has nor wound nor scar?   -Amy Carmichael From Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1999),… Read More

I see you, blossom of mine, in the darkness. …my companions have become darkness.  Psalm 88, I Cry Out Day and Night Before You, verse 18 Our children want to die, and their companions have become darkness. We thought that if we did everything right, if we trained them in the way they should go, if we instructed their hearts in Truth, they would be safe. Such cruel untruth. I am aware at this moment of no less than eight children who have had suicidal ideations or attempted to take their own lives in recent weeks. Their parents are all Christian leaders whom I know and love, people who live the gospel. The mental health crisis among our children is growing in strength and velocity. Like the Psalmist,… Read More

You did it again! You went ahead of me. I thought I was a messenger, Sent to tell them about You.   But You had already come; Prepared hearts— Expectant, Hopeful.   He looked at me And said, I feel like I’ve met you before. Like I’ve known you a very long time.   As we read Your Words together, Spoke of mutual pain And the comfort You give, He remembered.   I felt this way in a dream once.   Silently awestruck— Weeping Tears of Joy, Listening as he described   How You came.   Dressed in white (Every story is the same!) You appeared, Laid Your hand upon the shoulder   Of a broken-hearted father.   Comfort Peace Healing Hope.   I woke… Read More

Thank you, JS, for helping me recognize it was His roar I heard. For helping me put my sword down and worship. Two Lions   I heard the lion roaring; His terrible strength Keeping me from sleep.   I trembled at my window; Peering into night; Aware of his hunger.   My sword hangs at my side; My armor scratched and dull-- Second skin.   I have lived ready, Alert, On guard these long years.   I know he wants to devour me.   But I resist; And I remember my family around the world who also suffer. I am not alone.   As I strain to see his position, A voice like silver Shimmers in my ear,   There is another Lion.   The… Read More

Metamorphosis: (Greek: metamorphoó) a complete change of character, appearance, substance, or form. To transform. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform (metamorphoó) you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 As I wrangled with my own bad attitude toward personal transformation this week, a butterfly landed in my path. The little creature, painted with colors of sunset against powder black, seemed to have a message for me. Soundlessly she delivered her elegant exhortation.  Let God transform you. She told me a silent story of metamorphosis, a season of dissolving darkness that made her the beauty she now… Read More