When one of us hurts, oh, we all feel the weight of it.
When the world cries out, oh, we all know the state of it.
When the rain won't stop and the flood waters ascend,
When the hate is too much
and it seems like nothing can mend,
When sickness invades, and poverty remains,
and the killing is relentless,
What can we do to steady our souls
in the dark of the night?
Should I wave the white flag or fight the good fight?
You restore my soul.
You restore my soul back to your light again.
Back to your light again is where I need to be.
When darkness surrounds
and I can't make sense of it all,
Strengthen my heart; make steady my feet.
You lift my head, and you make me stand tall.
As I stand tall again, your grace rushes in,
reminding me that you hold all things.
In the palms of your hands you hold your mighty plans.
You're in control, and, though, I don't understand,
You've never let me down in all of my days.
When I thought that you did, I wasn't trusting your ways.
I get wrapped in the evil that seems to invade
on this side of the sun.
Grant me your eyes to see the work to be done.
Grant me fortitude to do the hard work,
to look at my life and to see what it's worth.
Grant me the care to see the worth of another.
Because, when one of us hurts,
oh, we all feel the weight of it.
Take "Courage, Dear Heart",
and may my heart become made of it.
10/11/2017
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Monday, August 21, 2017
Two Steps Forward
Uninspired, feeling tired…
No desire, no spark, no fire, waking up to the daily
drudgery that is this life.
What a sad state of affairs! What a dark cloud everyone
bears!
Like sly little foxes, we try to check all the right boxes.
Like, “I did a good deed today.”
“Yep. I took a minute to pray.”
But, even the slyest of foxes gets caught in a trap.
It’s like navigating with no road signs or a map.
Someone’s bound to get lost.
I try to keep up appearances, but at what cost?
Two steps forward and then it seems I get knocked down.
I get knocked down on my knees
as the chaos of a loud mind,
with all of its buzzing and humming
is whirring around like a swarm of bees.
Take captive every thought before your thoughts take you.
Made brand new…
Each morning, new mercies appear,
yet I’m full of fear.
Two steps forward.
The first is courage.
The second is freedom.
Walking in freedom, I can see the sun begin to shine.
Victory is mine. It’s never tasted so sweet.
Called Victorious because of Your great defeat.
Two steps forward.
I’m not wasting anymore time.
Two steps forward.
You lift my head.
Two steps forward.
Am I even moving? Are my feet made of lead?
Two steps forward.
I trust that You’re near.
Two steps forward.
Make my feet swift like a deer.
One step and I’ll gather my courage.
One more step and I can see the path up ahead.
Two steps forward.
I remember what You said.
You go before me.
Two steps forward and the chaos is quieted.
It must be quiet before the Holy One holding all things together.
Like a change in the weather,
a breath of fresh air that
fills my lungs,
I find freedom from frailty as I see where my help comes
from.
Two steps forward.
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
This Is Me
This is me.
Small child,
sitting on Grandma’s knee as she sang “hide it under a bushel.”
No way I’d
be telling stories about it now;
No way I’d
be talking about how
love came
down for me without a hand constantly guiding me.
Left to my
own devices, I find myself in a state of constant crisis,
a juggling
act as I balance what I want and what He wants for me.
This is me.
A cornucopia
of the finest is before me,
but I keep
reaching for the fruit from the wrong tree.
Brother and
sister, we never really fought-
spent
Sundays listening to a man tell us that our lives had been bought,
and now we
live not for ourselves but for the one who’s image we bear.
I still
remember that day we stood in the water at the front of the church.
We both were
baptized. J went first.
I had a
childlike faith, but I also behaved just like a child.
This is me.
I’d be
laughing with my friends in the church pew- third row on the left.
Grandma
would turn and give me that stare.
I’d
straighten up, especially when Grandpa would start to
lead the congregation in
prayer.
I took it
for granted sometimes.
Oh what a
life!
My biggest
obstacles were the ones that I created
when I confused truths for lies.
In an effort
to fit in, I would go with the flow.
I’d just nod
in agreement, instead of seeking counsel from the wise.
“But, I’m a
good person”, I’d remind myself so much.
I read the
Bible, but I wouldn’t share its good news,
using fear and shyness as a crutch.
This is me.
At 17 and
summertime, sitting in a large room, full of kids and leaders-
someone
walked up and said I had a call.
It was one
of those times when your heart hurts for your loved ones
and you wish
you could be there with them all.
Moments
later, walking back inside,
a hundred voices sang a song that calmed me as I
cried.
There is just
something about a word fitly spoken-
the kind
that are used to gently lift the broken.
It was a moment
where the peace that passes understanding,
that I’d heard about before,
overwhelmed me
while I fell, and provided a soft, cushioned landing.
I never felt
such a nearness in all of my days,
and it was
then that I knew I had no choice but to fully surrender to His ways.
This is me.
I followed
my brother to college.
I thought I
had acquired all of the knowledge to get along in this world,
but I still
questioned my purpose.
If my life
had been bought,
and now I live not for myself but for the one who’s image I
bear,
why do I
feel so worthless?
Sitting in
an upstairs room, full of college students and leaders,
I heard a
man read a verse from the book of Jeremiah.
I rolled my
eyes and let out a sigh as he read,
“For I know
the plans I have for you…”
I had heard
it all before. It wasn’t anything new.
I wrestled
and argued for years inside,
“Show me
Your plans if that really is true!”
Seeking
approval and clear-cut pathways,
I clearly missed the point of it all.
I’d asked
for His guidance, but failed at abidance.
Holding on
to things that made sense to me, I couldn’t see
that He was
laying out opportunity after opportunity
for me to see His hand in things.
I tried in
different ways to make my heart content,
and I still find myself trying today, because
my heart is naturally bent.
Naturally
bent to go my own way,
when I don’t
seek Him every day,
I play the
comparison game.
Then I’m
reminded
that my life
has been bought through His death on a cross.
I count it
all as loss,
Because He
said that I was worth it.
In all of my
shortcomings;
in all of my
scrambling to do something with this life,
He takes
such great care.
All of my
burdens He will surely bare for me just as He has promised.
I find solace from the Psalmist.
“Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
For you, Lord, have
delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.”
This is me.
This is where I’ve landed,
But I never really land.
In times of doubt,
I’m reminded that He holds each of us in the palm of His
hand.
(Jer. 29:11, Psalm 116:7-9, Phil. 3:8)
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