Tender Whispers of Love: Poetry

Eternal Love

“God is love,”* pure love

But of an eternal kind

Not love quite as we know it

But unique, you will find

For sometimes what He allows

And what He does†

Causes great pain

Doesn’t look anything like love

He uses it to mold you

To draw you to Him

He bids you surrender

And let Him deeply in

He doesn’t stop calling

‘Til your life is through

He weighs all you are

And all that you do‡

For He wants you to know

Him more deeply, Him more

So you can relate to Him better

When you get to that Heavenly Shore.

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* 1 John 4:16.

† “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord” (Isa. 55:8).

‡ “[H]e [Jesus] will reward each person according to what he has done” (Matt. 16:27b); “[T]he Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he has done” (Eph. 6:8); “[M]an is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Heb. 9:27).

A Heart Full of Love

Open your heart up to His

And you will find there

A heart full of love

To hold your every care

Open your heart

And you will see

That He’ll give and teach love

Oh so tenderly

He by His very nature

Is Love, pure Love

Nothing can replace

What comes from above

For He can bestow

On any-and-everyone

This great fruit of the Spirit*

He asks you only to come

To receive His Spirit

Is the very first step

He crumbles a heart of stone**

He replaces it

With a heart overflowing

With a soft one all His own

A fleshy heart

He will give

He will help you

To really live

And love in ways divine

Oh mold me and take me

Make me wholly thine.

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* “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal.5:22-23).

** “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezek.11:19–20).

Alone and Cold

Alone and cold

That’s how I feel

I remember at four

Standing and watching

Violence in our home

That feeling

That alone and cold

Resonates in my being

It stays with me

And comes up

Time and again

There is Your promise

To never leave nor forsake*

But I don’t feel You

For goodness’ sake!

Your Presence eludes

My pain it exudes

Through it seems each and every pore

And I feel all alone

Don’t have a home

Feel afraid at my very core

But trust You I must

Must take that leap

And trust in Your Word

For though I may not feel it

I know I’m really never alone

In my spirit, Jesus be heard.

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* The Lord Himself commissions Joshua after the death of Moses, saying:

As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Jos.1:5-9).

A Christmas Poem

Come one, come all

And celebrate the birth

Of our dear Savior

With merriment and mirth

You know it truly is

A time to give God thanks

For all that He has done

It was after all through Him

That was granted to us

Our oh so precious salvation

But if you find yourself

Not merry but more blue

Know it’s okay

To feel as you do

Friends can forsake

Family can too

Perhaps it’s an anniversary

Of a sad occasion for you

Maybe just getting together

Certain relatives you rarely see

Tends to produce within you

More than a bit of misery

Give it to Jesus

Whatever you feel

And He will make

His dear Presence real

Comfort He will bestow

On all who draw near

He can soothe a heavy heart

He can wipe away each tear

Whatever your emotional state

Try to rejoice at Him coming as a baby

He died and rose to give us joy that can be our strength*

That can make us soar through it all: Yes! Not maybe.

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*Jesus in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”; “(T)he joy of the Lord is…(our) strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

A Prayer about Food:

A Tempting Panacea to Stress

“Dear Lord:

You know how I struggle

When things go wrong

Can give in to food

Can’t seem to stay strong

God’s diet plan

Is discipline, or so

Charles Stanley has said

But in stress, I can reach

For sweets, for goodies

Foregoing discipline instead

I need Your Strength to resist

Satan’s tempting spread

That which is so readily available

In this culture I have

Though others have not

Please make me capable…

…of thinking more globally

And not just of myself

With Your Help, those cookies

Will stay on the shelf. Amen.”