Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Storm's End


Thick stillness welcomes a shroud of clouds

The sunlight dims to disguise the hour

 

The leaves rustle like a nervous laugh

Before the wind chooses a path

 

Silently with a stroke of light

That flashes a warning of its might

 

A distant growl becomes a roar

Revealing the flashes at their source

 

They shake the ground and slap the sky

Releasing torrents in a violent tide

 

The wind then choosing its fickle path

Stretches its power across the land

 

Scarring the earth as though a knife

Cutting through homes and hopes and lives

 

With silent flashes like a bitter scowl

It pulls away its tattered shroud

 

That was torn by light regaining power

Scattering the clouds and revealing the hour

 

The suns shining rays are at first subdued

As they filter through the colorful hues

 

Drawn by His hand a promise renewed

Of His steadfast love and a hope that’s true

 

Stretching across the battered earth

             Beauty for ashes promised by His word

 

               Greater than storms that sweep through our lives

                Is the healing power of His glorious light

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Mothers Day or A Place Like No Other


Todays about Mothers
            Those here and those gone
            To honor, remember and thank them for all
          
            Beginnings don’t matter
            The time, place or source
              To love as a mother she made the choice
 
              No matter how many
            She holds in her heart
              There’s a place never shared that was yours from the start

               It’s all about you there
               You are treasured and known
               No matter the distance it is always your home

               It’s filled with her prayers
               Her hopes and her dreams
               For your needs to be met and your goal’s to be reached

               How can I be sure
               That all this is true
                I’m not just a daughter, I’m a mom too

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

I Am Sorry Officer But I Just Can't Do That or Oh Lucy IV


My husband and I shared our truck until his parents gifted us with their old car.  The only problem was I didn’t know how to drive a stick shift.  I was so anxious to learn that I insisted on having my first lesson the night it arrived.  It was dark and snowy so we drove around the parking lot of a local shopping center to play it safe.

 We only lived a few blocks from the school so I thought it would be good practice to pick up the kids the next day.  Everything was fine until I came to a stop sign on top of a small hill.  School had just let out and there was a line of traffic behind me.  There were no hills in the parking lot the night before and when I tried to release the clutch to move forward, the car rolled backwards.  I took a deep breath and tried a second time but it rolled back again to within a few inches of the car behind me. That driver decided the solution to my problem was to lay on her horn.  Horrified I turned on the flashers, opened my window and waved the cars around me.

Suddenly a squad car pulled up behind us with its lights on.  The officer walked over to my window and asked if the car had broken down.  I had no idea what to say so I answered rather shortly that it had not.  He said that I would have to move along then because I was holding up traffic.  Choking back tears I told him that I just could not do that.  He seemed shocked as I just sat there clutching the wheel. The kids had all but melted under the back seat in humiliation and didn’t say a word. He asked why I couldn’t move and I was forced to tell him the embarrassing truth, bracing myself for whatever penalty I would receive for refusing his order.  Trying not to laugh he kindly told me how to use the emergency break to keep from sliding backwards.  He waited while I tried it and even blocked anyone else from going around me until I was safely underway. I never had the chance to thank him because I had no intention of stopping again until I reached home, but I will never forget him.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

To Tell the Truth

The moments I lived for
When my hope was renewed
Were the moments of clarity
When reality met truth

Beyond the confusion
Past the noise in my mind
To a place that was peaceful
Where freedom was mine

I could see with my heart
Others struggle for peace
From that vantage point
I knew just what they'd need

I'd start to invite them
To join me and then
Fears of rejection
Began to seep in

Not wanting the world
To steal my peace
I held out my heart
But just beyond reach

As the guilt and the shame
Grew larger than truth
The clarity dissolved
My confusion renewed

From my sinful place
I can't see past my own
Disappointments and sorrows
Until He calls me home

He shows me the way
Through Forgiveness and Grace
Freely given in Love
Gently growing my faith

Learning to trust
That He'll love me through all
The times that I doubt
And run from His call

Slowly I'm learning
That when He is near
From that place of peace
I have nothing to fear

I can see through His eyes
And reach with His hands
With His words that I share
He will gather His lambs

The moments I live for
Have now become
The moments I’m telling
The world of His Son