Whisper

Rivets of steel, pounded into 

Spanses of metal. Red hot from

Friction and ear-numbing sound. So

Our hearts too oft become. 

Persons made and broken by plans 

Secured and failed. Icy cold tendrils 

Of pity and pence find their way in 

Through cracks of blindness and resistance. 

An enterprise planned, drawn up, built where 

Man and metal combine in partnership of 

arrogance and confidence. The four meet in

The docks and commence in crashing waves. 

But the whisper of wisdom is ignored, the 

Cry of caution displaced by fools ears and 

Men's plans to sail what course he will, of his 

Own making. 

Oh for steadfast and unwavering foresight

To see the storm and reset the sails. Oh to

See the icy cold path ahead and turn for 

Warmer seas. Oh for grace to heed the cry of 

Reason when she calls through pounding wind 

And determined course. 

May our plans and purpose be not 

So steeled and fixed that we cannot turn 

The mast of our ships to fairer seas where 

Grace and wisdom dance together in 

The dawning Light. 

more than the morning mist

Oh for grace that this would be be true in my life:

Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit— “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit…” And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in contact with everyone I meet. I remain faithful to His name, even though the commonsense view of my life may seemingly deny that, and may appear to be declaring that He has no more power than the morning mist.

from Oswald Chambers, Oct 18 reading

This strange earthly life

This is a strange walk, this earthly life.

One of faith and frailty, fears and

failures. You say we’re spirit,

But all we can see are hands and

Skin and bones. You call us to faith,

And hope in the Unseen.

But all we can sense is the

Seen, the heard, the tasted, and the

Touched. You give us faith, and then call

Us to trust in a future that is eternal and glorious.

But all we can feel in these earthly bodies

Are goodbyes and loss

And sacrifice and missing joy. 

You came and conquered. And then left,

Telling us you would one day return. It’s

Been a long time and too many of those

We love have left and gone to you, without a

Word, never to be seen, this side of

Our own death. Yet, you say to have hope.

Hope in the unseen. Dear Lord, we

Are earthly creatures, our physical senses

Far out-pacing the spiritual. You call

Us into the spiritual realm, in surrender,

In faith, and trust and hope. And yet we cannot

See past these hands and skin and bones.

So Lord, have mercy on our skin-bound

Souls, and our weak minds who try to

See the unseen, but are left with a

Sense that all is not as it should

Be or how it will be. Forgive us our

Frailties and our fears. Give us the 

Courage to walk like Joshua, in

Hope that what is beyond our sight is true and

More real than all we can see.