Meadows or Briars
My child, it makes no difference
What you are walking through.
In the meadows or the briars,
God is walking there with you.
He’ll bring you through them safely,
You never need to fear.
The briars, though they’re painful,
Will cause you to draw near.
If you only crossed broad meadows,
You would then be unaware
Of God’s goodness and His comfort
In life’s perplexing snares.
If you had known no heartache
And experienced no pain,
Your spirit would be poorer
For no growth would you attain.
Though briars leave their mark on you,
They painfully succeed
In driving you to seek the One
Who’ll heal you when you bleed.
Mem’ries of scars may linger,
But they bring a healing balm,
For you know that God will comfort
For He holds you in His palm.
In every life there’re briars,
Though the meadows we prefer,
For we learn we are dependent
When the painful we incur.
As our eyes look in the distance,
We’ll behold a sight so rare,
For a glorious meadow’s waiting,
Peace and rest are waiting there.
This Bitter Cup
I’ll drink the cup You’ve given me
Though bitter be the taste.
For You have only love for me,
This in my hand You’ve placed.
I’ve learned to trust You through the years
Though I’ve sometimes rebelled.
For You have caused my eyes to see,
A purpose I’ve beheld.
And so if I at first recoil,
And from Your cup retreat,
I ask that You remind me, Lord,
The aftertaste is sweet.
Wings of Faith
Not plunging to its peril,
This tiny baby bird,
But forced to learn the art of flight,
For this the nest was stirred.
A seeming drop from heaven,
It learns to try its wings.
It has not been abandoned,
To aid the parent springs.
Some “test runs” may be needed,
But confidence is learned.
And soon it finds it is equipped
To soar as it has yearned.
It takes some outside pressure
To stir us from our nest.
Equipped, yet fearfully we plunge
To put faith to the test.
We too are not abandoned.
Our Father is nearby.
Far more equipped than we believe,
He gave us wings to fly.
We often feel we can’t survive
The height from which we fall.
But if our nest had not been stirred,
We would not soar at all.
Painful Relationships
It takes a lot of polishing
To smooth the roughest stone;
And God will use those close to us
To be our grinding stone.
Our edges are so jagged
We often inflict pain;
And when our roughened edges meet
The sparks increase the strain.
God knew what He was doing
Though we have had our doubts.
He knew the friction it would take
To smooth rough edges out.
The smoothest pebbles bear His mark,
With roughness worn away;
It is the smoothest pebbles
That make the most headway.
Relinquish Yesterday
Relinquish yesterday, live today,
Don’t pause to look behind.
The past need have no hold on you,
Need not control your mind.
Your past was nailed upon His cross,
It’s dealt with once for all.
No longer need it bring you shame;
Now rise to heed God’s call.
You have a bright tomorrow,
Though yesterday left wounds.
It is those very scars He’ll use
To grow His choicest blooms.
Temptation
How sweet the apple on the tree,
Temptation lies in wait.
Whatever form the apple takes,
Our choice decides our fate.
The pleasures of the flesh, the eyes,
The pride of life we crave;
But bitter is the aftertaste,
And we become sin’s slave.
Masks
The fixed facades, the masks in place,
Yet troubled eyes shine through.
The restlessness, the hopelessness,
The shadowed eyes construe.
The masks perform their empty tasks,
For life, it just goes on.
A seeming carousel they ride,
The same from dawn to dawn.
Enduring life, hour by hour,
Repeating one more day.
What was done the day before
Done once again today.
No purpose in the plodding,
They live, so they exist.
No joy performing all the chores
That daily make their list.
The masks in place, few people see
The emptiness inside.
Few people know they yearn for more
Or hear the moans they sighed.
Pretending happiness and joy
They hide the inner pain.
Frustrating tears we’ll never see,
Convinced their life’s in vain.
But there is hope and they must hear
There’s purpose for each one;
Designed by God with gifts and tasks—
A race that must be run.
The fake facade behind them,
The masks removed at last;
Perceiving purposes and plans—
Abundant life forecast.
This life a preparation,
Eternity’s ahead.
A future filled with joy, rewards—
Fulfillment found instead.
New purpose in the living,
God’s gift to reach their world.
A new perspective on their days,
His strength in them unfurled.
With every dawn fresh hope unleashed
That nurtures life anew,
A new beginning for the masks,
God’s purpose to pursue.
A Rose
A vibrant rose, with beauty blessed,
Emits a rare perfume;
And those who linger bask within
The scent that fills the room.
Its color and its purity
Are but the soul’s delight;
And blessed the eyes who truly see
And love this heav’nly sight.
But in God’s perfect timing,
The blossom soon must die.
The fragile petals fade away
And we must say good-bye.
But those who looked upon the bloom
Found wonder in creation;
The mem’ry of the fragrance lasts
To be a consolation.