 |
There is a serious lady called Pat,
Who ran after everyone's hat,
Till her headache grew big,
And became too large for her wig,
The doc shook his finger,
"For your pain not to linger,
Stop running after everyone's hat
And take care of the lady called Pat."
Continuing Creation
In the beginning, God spoke,
Hot vapor flowed and smoke
Rose from molten earth.
Again God spoke.
Earth parted from sky.
The ground became dry.
Fish swam; birds flew.
Beasts walked; men knew
Woman; both ate bad fruit.
Disobedience took root.
Weary wanderers became,
Who lived long years of blame.
Once more God spoke,
Not with fire or smoke,
But with patient love,
Sent His son from above.
Made the boy a babe,
Drew first breath in a cave,
Lived as Mary's oldest boy,
Shared her sorrow and her joy,
Taught His Father's love
Which gave Him power from above.
Showed men how
To live for others,
Whom God made brothers,
But men did not care,
To have faults laid bare
To rid them of this man,
They hung Him and ran,
From cross, pain and guilt
For three hours there He hung
Through all ages these words He flung,
Father, forgive them, they know not,
The cost of each blood clot!
The pang of each slow breath
Brings closer My sure death!
Father, see how I bleed!
Be with me in my need!
Oh Lord, I am now numb,
Father, Thy will be done!"
Groaning, He bowed His head,
Weeping friends thought Him dead.
Pulling Him all the way down,
Laying Him gently on the ground.
Joseph bore loving to his tomb,
For Jesus, his unknown Lord, made room.
For us, setting a new age
In our life, a new page
Processing
We are always in the process
of either building up or tearing down.
Whether we destroy or create
depends on the direction of our gaze.
We can look up or down.
The days pass:
Each takes us a little farther into eternity.
Whether we are smiling or weeping,
hurting or without pain,
excited or bored-
each day brings its dawn,
its noontide,
and its evening.
Each day is given to us one at a time.
We make each a stepping stone down into a valley or up to a
mountain top!
Finding and Being Found!
I feel light and airy,
flying like a fairy;
Free from all burden of guilt;
Free from walls I've built.
to keep the Lord out-
to keep me in.
Now walls are down;
I find I 'm found!
Love's Way
Like a river, God's love flows down
From higher hills, through the heart streams
Like a torrent, it seeks to pound
Through tightened valves, through broken seams,
Of worn-out veins, inland with care,
And arteries, thick and taut
When Life, an inroad, seeks to daunt.
Like a flood, his love enfolds
Tensing muscles, weeping bones.
Wields them gently to His molds,
Until they cease their tired groans
And lie submerged in love at last.
Questions and Answers
God, are you ever lonely?
Father, are you sometimes sad?
Do you wish you
Touch a heart and make it glad?
Dear God, do you ever weep?
Father, do you sometimes fret?
Do you sigh really deep
When you seek and do not get?
Dear God, how much can you give?
Father, how much can you take?
How many years can you live
With no love for Your Own Sake?
Dear child, now I am not lonely,
Daughter, I can never be sad,
For if you, and you only,
Seek my love, and I will be glad.
Faces
(On looking into faces watching a parade)
People standing, watching glumly.
Children pointing, staring dumbly,
Black boys shouting, glaring sideways,
Mothers chiding, fearing always.
Fathers grinning spittle,
Black girls flirting, caring little
Infants chortling, fighting borning.
People standing, dreading morning.
People waiting, wasting lives,
Old folks hating, beating wives,
Babies growing, learning rages,
Young men pulsing, pounding cages,
Women graying, losing health,
Daughters blooming, seeking wealth,
Black race dreaming, hoping much,
Great God pleading, calling such.
Great God dwelling, crowding slums,
Jesus bleeding, walking bums,
Spirit speaking, keeping mute,
Free Life surging, staying brute,
Bright Light shining, dimming eyes,
Pure Love flowing, searching ties,
People standing, dreading morning.
Great God, stirring, urging dawning.
Oh God, what do you have in store?
My child, what do you seek?
Oh God, when will you unlock a door?
My child, YOU are not weak!
Love without freedom binds,
Freedom without love never unites,
Both comes from God--
He both frees and unites!
Psalm
O Lord, save me from myself!
Mine anguish has come upon me;
It floods up and engulfs,
It rolls over my whole being
And I would perish!
Whither may I go but unto thee?
Who continues to draw my laboring breath but Thee?
Yes, Thou in Thy infinite mercy echo
My very outcries against Thee!
Oh, how long wilt Thou wait upon me?
How long will it take me to return to Thee,
The Source of my being?
O Lord, save me from myself!
Jokes
God must like jokes.
He sends the pokes
That bring us hunches,
To give them punches.
Delivery
Lord, I had come to a dead end,
I turned aside and wandered,
wandered in a thicket
Of anger and pain,
Too taut to mend;
My heart was pulled, my strength was gone;
I lost the way--His way,
I died a bit--that day,
He took me up and made me sit upon a holy mount,
Days passed--one by one;
His Spirit flowed and cleansed me from a sacred fount;
My cherished tensions melted in the sun.
Came a murmur soft as rain.
"Find your own way; have no fear,
Give yourself--soul, heart and brain,
I will always be near."
How Can We Share Each Other's Load?
Oh Lord, how can we share each other's load?
How can we bear each other's pain?
How can we walk each other's road?
How can we cleanse each other's stain?
Presence at Dawn
Thy Presence is a soft vapor
Which enfolds all the earth,
And rises up as clinging dew,
To herald the day's new birth
To brighten night's inky view,
Thy Love gently kisses the dawn,
And distills to breaking day,
The essence of Thy fresh-made morn,
And blesses all my day!
Measurement
How small is the human soul?
Does one measure the toll
Of its anger and fear?
How large is the human heart?
Can its kind deeds ever show
The pains that make it grow?
Does God record the sad start
Of each lonely wet tear?
How great is a smile from a friend
Who'll defend me till the end.
Searching
Great God of the mountain,
Great God of the sea.
We seek for Thy fountain,
We search for Thy key.
Great God of the city,
Great God of the slums,
Cleanse us of stains gritty,
Love us as Thy bums!
Great God of our hearts.
Great God of our souls,
Make whole all our parts,
Teach me my true goals!
Jesus
Why call Jesus Lord?
He, a lowly carpenter, adored? He felt the strain of wooden beams,
He knew the world of human schemes,
He faced the threat of want,
He bathed in need's fount,
He ached with inner pain,
He looked at golden grain,
He heard the whispered breeze,
He grieved at hot disease,
These He knew--and knows
For lo, His love flows
He stands still at our door,
He knocks so wait once more,
So Jesus is Lord,
He, God's Son, adored!
Assignment
Lord, what would you have me to do?
Something glorious for you?
Something big and brave,
Your answer I do crave
Here and now!
Wait, my child, wait,
You would give your fate
To me?
Then BE, just BE!
Lord, give me a clue,
Tell me what to do.
Child, give me all of yourself!
I'll not put you on a shelf!
Confession
Deeds are done I do not wish,
Deeds I wish to do are not,
Words collect as drops on a dish,
To leave an ugly, angry blot.
Promises
Lord, give me one more day
To help my friend,
And mend my way,
To reach the end
Of the life span,
You decreed to be,
With no dark ban
On your love for me.
A Prayer
Lord, show me how to love,
How to know your holy dove,
How to feed your straying sheep,
Clinging to the hillside steep,
How to comfort, how to hold,
The badly hurting to enfold.
My child, you see the dying,
Haste to stop their crying,
Feed the hungry, soothe the ill,
In doing such, you will seek and
And find my divine will.
BACK
