War

The days wear on
And I become more aware of
The deceits, the traps, the temptations
Of the enemy.
They are everywhere
In the world
In the mouths of family and friends
In the news
In the technologies I try to tame
In my wretched soul
And covetous body
And twisted mind.
Death and destruction
Are ever near!
The days wear on
And the awareness
Drives me to seek You.
Arm me, not with the weapons of this world,
But with patience and pity, justice and gentleness.
Protect me with lovingkindness.
Grant me Your wisdom and discernment.
Gird me with Hope.
When I am wounded,
(For no war is ever safe!)
Heal me.
Uphold me with the strength of Your breath
And the example of Your Son,
For I cannot survive this war
Without You. 

The Fourth of July

We were at South Street Seaport,
Watching the fireworks display.
Ribbons of blue and gold cascaded into the water. 
Illuminated waves of red and green washed on shore. 
The crowd oohed and aahed as the booms thundered. 
I thought, "I wonder what a party would be like
In Heaven." 
What would we see,
Galaxies being formed by the Creator's hand?
The dead raised to life with the whisper of His breath? 
What would we hear,
Seraphim blowing trumpets of glory before the throne of the Lord God?
Cherubim singing the praises of the Perfect Lamb?
What will it be like, our Independence Day
When we are given beauty for ashes, 
A garment of praise instead of a faint spirit?*
O Lord, My God, 
Redeem Your battered creation,
Bring us into Your Presence,
To live and dwell in the eternal Joy and Freedom
Of You

*Isaiah 61:3

Best Friend

Adelheid...

You said yesterday

That "best friend"

Was hardly a fitting term

For the bond between us.

I don't know the word

To describe what you mean to me.

It is deeper than my flesh,

Stretching back to a time before I existed.

Did we meet in the place where Souls frolic before they are born,

And agree to meet again in this life?

I am a little later in arriving than you.

Better late than never.

(Someone has to steer your wheelchair.)

The word for the bond between us escapes me.

But I can tell you the prayer your friendship draws forth from my lips:

That God will bless you all the days of your life...

That He will take us Home...

And that the joy we share in this brief life

Foreshadows the eternal joy of a shared life in the Next.

When Hills Sing

Lord,
I saw a show tonight
The rhythms pounded everywhere
Vibrated in all corners,
On all objects,
In every fiber 
Of the performers' bodies. 
As they made music
With brooms and cans and kitchen sinks, 
All that resounded in me 
Was Isaiah:
"For you shall go out in joy 
and be led forth in peace; 
the mountains and the hills before you 
shall break forth into singing, 
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hand"*
Lord...
Won't that be something to see!

Isaiah 55:12

Servant of the King

I am a servant of the King. 
We all serve a King - 
But which one? 
King Self? King Money? 
King Family? King Worldly Success?
What do we serve 
At the exclusion
Of all else? 
Lord,
You created this universe, 
And redeem a broken creation
Through the Blood of Your Son. 
When You come for me
And bring me Home
May it be said of me
That I learned to be 
One of the faithful
Who, in this broken world,
Served You well!

First Love

Music
Courses through me
Like air through lungs,
Or blood through veins.
In my soul,
I make melodies.
In my mind,
I compose chords, and rhythms,
And rhyme.
The music has always been there
In triumph and joy,
In grief and sorrow.
To what end
Did You make me thus?
In this life, Lord,
May I remember that
All gifts are from You.
May I use the music
To be near You,
And bring others to You.
In the next, Lord,
May I dance 'round Your throne,
And sing Your praises
Forevermore.

Burden

It is a note,
A sidebar read in a commentary:
"Normally, death by crucifixion could take many hours,
Even days."
That is why Pilate exclaims,
"What, is he dead already?"*
Of course, I think,
He bore the burden of our sins.
I stagger beneath the weight of my own;
Imagine bearing the world's!

*Mark 15:45

Ashes to Ashes

From ashes to ashes,

From dust to dust,

The priest marks me

With the sign of

Him who saved me.

I leave the darkened church disoriented and dazed,

Staring at a word bathed in stark, cold sunlight,

A world that is a mere shadow of the one to come

Until You come again

O Lord, and redeem

These ashes, this dust

This humble frame

This girl, this life

Who could blow away

In the breath of Your

Shechinah Glory!

How long do we wait?

How long yearning

For the end of ash

The end of dust

And the beginning

Of our real lives

With You?

Shalom

I reside in an apartment, 
6 rooms and a foyer
I call my own
But I live within
Your home... 
Alive with people
And creatures
Busyness and 
Excitement,
Laughter and
Love. 
I live within 
Your home and family
As though I had always been there. 
With the click of the gate, 
I, too, come home
And am restored.
Is this a foretaste 
Of the ultimate homecoming...
Of the Universe's restoration
At the hands of Him
Who made it? 
With you and yours,
I am no longer
A stranger in a strange land
My weariness rests
And I can believe
In the goodness and beauty
Of ten million tomorrows...