Father, Guide, Friend!
What an adventure we’ve had!
How gratefully I sing
For every day, the highs and lows,
Gliding on billows
Riding Your wings.
The sunrises together,
The sunsets that wept
While You knit me to You, tethered
Safe under feather, always kept.
I wouldn’t trade a single day
For cold gold, or more hours,
I would travel this way
Again and again, if it were in my power
To dance in Your meaningful frivolity!
To endure, to rejoice, to praise, to confess!
What is quantity over quality
But more of less?
At the first, as these tremors were landing, You gave me Isaiah 54, and Isaiah 62, but what had to come first? Isaiah 53, and Isaiah 61. You weave wonders in the open sky. You tell us what You will weave, and You weave it in full view, and it is too great for us to comprehend. You effect beauty. You radiate beauty. You suffer beauty, and You endow beauty.
Let me glow with You, and Your suffering, and Your blessing, and Your steadfast faithfulness! I bless Your name.
Isaiah 53:1-12 NASB1995
Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. https://bible.com/bible/100/isa.53.1-12.NASB1995
Isaiah 61:1-11 NASB1995
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers. But you will be called the priests of the Lord; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, Everlasting joy will be theirs. For I, the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense And make an everlasting covenant with them. Then their offspring will be known among the nations, And their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them Because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed. I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise To spring up before all the nations.
I have been Jonah.
Rotting in the belly of the fish
As long as it took to walk Ninevah,
To share the truth, to wish
They would be punished
While bringing them Good News.
Forgive me, Father.
My tongue, my words, my heart
Has been a bitter cesspool,
And I’ve spewed blessings
While they were still full
Of the stagnant filth
Of resentment and unforgiveness.
Forgive me, Father,
For not looking like You.
I forgive and release any claim.
Bless their endeavors,
Teach them gently,
Lead them by still waters,
As You have done for me.
Show them the benefits of Your favor,
Your presence, Your voice.
Show them how to let You lead,
How to make Your choice.
Love them.
Preserve what they have built.
Bless the work of their hands.
Purify them of their enemies,
Grant the wisdom and strength to stand
Let them forget their sins
And press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let them hit their mark.
I see what You’ve been trying to show me.
Lead on.
Isaiah 53:1-12 HCSB
Who has believed what we have heard? And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to? He grew up before Him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him. Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered His fate? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was struck because of my people’s rebellion. They made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man at His death, although He had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully. Yet the Lord was pleased to crush Him severely. When You make Him a restitution offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and by His hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished. He will see it out of His anguish, and He will be satisfied with His knowledge. My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will carry their iniquities. Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil, because He submitted Himself to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.
Being close to them
Reminded me of my love,
I saw a whole life there
Where I could be what I’m made of
And belong and bless.
Remembering my love
Brought to surface the pain
Of having the ones I chose
Treat me with such disdain
Having a warm heart tossed to the cold,
By the cold.
In my pain, I want to exact blood.
I want to return loss for loss,
But I wasn’t alone
Where I was tossed
God, You died with me,
And You brought me back.
I was right to release
My anger, my pain, my claim;
I won’t pick it up again.
I let go of the blame.
You love a planet full of people
Who won’t care about You.
Mine is just one building.
I guess We’ll both just keep on forgiving
I was a little bird
Never much to see.
Forgetful as I flew
Caught up in the horizon blue,
Dizzied by mountain and ocean views
The open sky the only place
I felt meant to be.
In the soar, the wind upon
My little wing
I lost my flock,
I somehow forgot
Or never took to thought
Our migratory patterns
What seasons bring.
I’ve never heard a flock
That shares my song
I’ve never found my home
Through all the lands I’ve flown
It hasn’t been so bad alone
But I wonder if any ever missed me
Wherever I belonged.
I could read the skies
Early on, I knew
This journey would be my last,
I sang goodbye to all I’ve passed
Following updrafts for one last cast
Into the unknown
Hoping as I flew
To hear my song from a distance
But my farewell aria is a solo.
If I didn’t fly and sing alone
No one I passed would know
The song that birds like me will sing-
And so it’s okay
I’m so grateful You’ve been with me, Struggle to struggle, Inside all the tasks I’m still learning to juggle. In the Perpetual Empty Watching the waves I begin sinking- But my Messiah saves. I know You’re working, Because You keep telling me You are Because Your promises can’t fail. I can’t cover these scars But You keep whispering to my soul Since this all began Someone is coming; I won’t be alone. It’s hard to imagine a man Who loves You, And can love me. Whose love could be pure Not driven by usurpation or pity. I can’t imagine sitting with a stranger. I don’t want to start something new. I don’t think I want love at all; I’m not sure I can believe it’s true. It isn’t good to be so alone. I have been for so long. Sometimes I curl up under the weight That paralyzes skip and song. No one has ever brought kindness Into this space. I’m scared if they did, It would be wasted grace. I don’t even want to sort it out, Though I believe You cannot lie, But I don’t know how to bear Seeing myself in another man’s eyes.
He would have to look like You.
There hasn’t been a single victory here That wasn’t wrought by Your hand A God of Resurrection, Transformation, This is all beyond what I can understand
I’m afraid, but I trust You.
You are Promise enough. You’ve cared for my every need So I’m just going to be still now, And rest in Your lead.
These years have shaken me violently. I’m just going to wait now, quietly.
Please never forget me.
“But I fear nothing because of the promises of Heaven; for I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God.” St. Patrick
As an aid to help me
In the pivot and swivel,
My poetry got trapped
Between confession and drivel.
It’s been a long time, if at all,
Since I’ve written a poem of value.
My poetic flounderings
Reduce down into
Whenever I get especially lonely,
Wishing someone safe would hold me,
I look closely in the mirror
Seeing a million reasons to scold me
And I can’t imagine a soul
Could cross through the looking glass
To love me as
viewingcamelot 