Fractured Reflection

Oh Lord, I am so far away

From who I ought to be,

I really don’t think I can do

This task you’ve set for me

And do you ever glimpse in me

The good you hope to see?

I want to be the person whom

You saw when you formed me,

But I am weak and fail so much

That I just cannot see

How can you still believe that I

Can be who I should be.

Oh Lord, I am a broken child

I’m fractured as can be,

But please don’t turn your face away

For some day you may see

A truer glimpse of your own face

Reflecting back in me.

Psalm 78:69

The day rained chaos down on me,

The tasks went on and on,

And every chance I had to laugh,

Was very quickly gone.

But, I held on to sanity

By knowing I’d soon be

Before the alter you had formed

In my sanctuary.

How can I watch the rising moon,

Or see the morning sun,

Without rejoicing in your work,

The marvels you have done?

Far longer than this day’s dismay,

A mortal’s atonement,

Will the creations of your hand

Remain your testament.

Psalm 78:69
He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.

My Cloudy Attitude

I turn to seek your guidance, Lord,

But my gaze is obscured

By all the petty selfishness  

To which my life’s inured.

I want to see more clearly, Lord,

But I get in my way.

I want to serve more joyfully,

But first I want to play.

I want to lift your praises up,

But worries weigh me down.

I’d like to show a grateful heart,

But it’s blocked by my frown.

I know that you are always there

Behind my grumpy haze,

I’m grateful that you still light up

Even my cloudy days.

Oh, Ye of Little Faith

The golden light splits through the dark

And grows to bring the dawn.

A fringe of darkness still prevails

As night time lingers on.

Although the dark will soon give way

And I know day will grow

I still hold doubts, a few “what ifs”…

What if the night won’t go?

What if the sun is driven back

Beneath the mountain’s rim?

What if the light is lost in dark

That grows more deep and grim?

The light is faithful to the path

That you have set it on.

Despite my fears, the light will grow,

The darkness will be gone.

Then some day I will learn to trust

That you have things in hand

And I won’t have to see the proof

To really understand.

Dancing Instead of Worrying

While others sit and wait for change

I choose to rise and dance.

It may not help me in the end,

But I will take that chance,

Because just waiting weighs me down,

While joy lifts up my heart.

Rejoicing may not make things right,

But it’s a place to start.

1 Corinthians 2:9

I see the glory of your love

Spread out across the land;

Mountains washed in golden light,

Raised up by your strong hand,

A dappled sky reflected in

The waves along the strand.

In awe, I gaze upon the world

And try to understand

That, wondrous as it all may be,

Heaven will be more grand.

How can they be more glorious,

The blessings you have planned?

1 Corinthians 2:9

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—

Matthew 8: 23-27

Watching the storm clouds gathering,

I remember the tale

Of how he soothed the raging seas

And calmed the frenzied gale.

They woke him, when the tempest rose,

And called on him for help

Lest they be cast into the waves

And drowned like foam and kelp.

He calmed the storm with just a word,

He soothed the frothing sea.

They wondered, though they knew him well,

How such a thing could be.

Then he reminded them that faith

Was all that they would need

To calm the sea and still the storm;

Just simple faith, in deed.

So as I watch the storm clouds rise

Above the winter sea

I ask not that he soothe storm,

But give more faith to me.

Matthew 8: 23-27

23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

The Broken Bough

The barren branch, the broken bough,

Is all that’s left behind.

The shattered husk of what once was;

A broken, hollow rind.

So much of life still blooms and grows

With darkness at its heart.

While life is strong in root and limb,

The darkness gets its start.

If we’re to leave a legacy

Beyond the broken bough,

We need to root our lives in more

Than just the here and now.

Only when rooted in his word,

Can our limbs reach the sky

And from strong roots will rise new shoots

When our time passes by.

Psalm 126:5

With every bitter tear I weep

I feel you comfort me.

And though the tears well in my eyes

Til I can barely see,

I hold your promise in my heart

That, though my tears may fall,

You’ll turn my sorrow into joy

With which you’ll fill them all.

Psalm 126:5
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.

Psalm 19:13

When my fragile patience wavers,

When my strained temper frays,

When my frustrations bubble up

When my devotion strays

Please keep one hand on my shoulder

The other cross my lips

That I might serve you faithfully

Avoiding sinful slips.

Psalm 19:13
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.