My New Best Friend

To know God,

to truly know God.

That’s what I want more

than anything.

He’ll come to me as a friend

and sit by my side.

He’ll sing to me of love, joy,

and inner tranquility.

He’ll tell me what a good girl

I’ve been all my life,

and how pleased He is with

the paths that I have chosen.

When tears run down my cheeks,

He’ll wrap His arms around me

and hold me tight, not letting go

until the shuddering subsides.

We’ll share cool water from my fridge,

some homemade bread, and a bowl

of fresh fruit, picked off the trees in

my backyard.  Before we begin, we’ll

bow our heads and offer thanks for

all the good and kind people in the

world, for peace, for love, and for

self-acceptance.  I won’t like that last one.

When He bites into the apple and juice

runs down His chin, I’ll snap a photo,

and then we’ll laugh.

He’ll take a picture of me smiling, so that

I may treasure it forever.

After our meal, I’ll invite Him to spend

the night.  We’ll have a slumber party

with popcorn and a G-rated movie.

He’ll sleep in the front bedroom, and

when I close my eyes that night,

I’ll sleep soundly until late the next day,

for the first time in a long, long while.

In the morning, He’ll wake me with the

warmth of His smile.  I’ll feel tingly all

over, and when I get up, that feeling will

cling like plastic wrap.

Before He leaves later that afternoon,

He’ll pull me aside and whisper in my ear.

Like a gentle breeze, I’ll hear Him say

that He will be my one best friend.

Forever.

Faith is My Rock

Fortunately, faith is my foundation.

Admittedly, I frequently fail.

Independently, however, I am nothing.

Truthfully, the Lord sits on my shoulder.

Hesitatingly, I listen before acting.

Inevitably, I stumble again and again.

Stupefyingly, He never crosses me off His list.

Miraculously, He trusts that I will do right.

Yearningly, my eyes plead for understanding.

Rigidly, He hangs on to my heart.

Occasionally, He allows me to slip.

Consequently, I lean a little harder.

Knowingly, then, He simply smiles.

An Almighty God

If not for an almighty God

who could have created the earth?

Speak to me not of inventors,

researchers, scientists.

Their works are both

improvement and ruination.

Humans, thanks to God,

have the ability to think,

yet we frequently do not.

Sunday rolls around and we find

excuses

We run hither and yon,

never stopping for even one moment

to give thanks to the One

who breathed life into our lungs,

blessed us,

filled us with promise of accomplishment,

then set us free to stumble our way

through life,

learning, hopefully, from errors.

All the while He sits in heaven

smiling down at His creations

waiting for the day when His loves wake up

and then take time

to sing His glorious name.

He welcomes even the unrepentant

saying, “Come here, my child.”

I, for one, will cuddle next to His chest

and cry tears of joy.

God is my reason for being.

I must never forget.

My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord

I never believed those words,

From a psalm we sing at church,

Applied to me.

I was the outcast

The odd one out

The unlovable one, according to my parents.

I held onto hope

That something would happen

To change my life’s circumstances

But my thoughts

Barely made a dent

In where I was going.

All it took was a glimpse

Of a future filled with love

A future with the man who’d become my husband.

He taught me love

Love of family and home

Love of God who, does indeed, take care of my soul.

My eyes were opened

For the first time.

I saw a person deserving of love

A person who was intelligent

Capable, loving, and full of ideas

My vision was realigned.

I knew now that I didn’t have to see everything

That I didn’t have to have all the answers\

My God would be there, helping me along the way.

The Lord is greater than any worries I might have.

He’s louder than negative thoughts that fill my brain

He’s so strong that my weaknesses fall away.

He brings me hope, love, faith in myself

Amplified through Him and my husband.

My soul, does indeed, magnify the Lord.

Priorities

Things I wanted

But never got

Things I got but didn’t want

Blend into the past

So quickly forgotten

Successes I dreamed of

But never achieved

Achievements accomplished

That had not been

Preplanned

Money stopped me

From doing dear things

Money also got me

My career, my dream job

It all worked out

I had to get my priorities

In a line

Understand what comes first

Then next and especially

What doesn’t really matter

I had mentors along the way

Some steered me wrong

Sending me off onto rocky paths

Then disappearing

When I needed them most

No matter what wrongs

I committed

The injuries I inflicted

Whether intentionally

Or by accident

My God was always there

Walking beside me

Even when I felt alone

Even when I’d lost my way

He was there

He became my mentor

When I invited Him in

When I called His name

To beg for guidance

That I knew would be true

He helped me keep

First things first

To understand what matters most

To do what’s right

As often as I can

Lessons learned the hard way

Happened when I forgot

What mattered most

Because He was always there

Reminding me to stay true

Once I opened my mind

To God’s presence

Tears filled my eyes

And I felt His touch

A gentle brush on my cheek

I still make mistakes

Still drift toward the wrong path

But then He reminds me

To always, always

Put first things first

God so Loves Me

My early years were tough,

Growing up feeling unloved,

Unwanted

Inferior

Except for my God

Who I knew loved me

He walked with me

Through turmoil

That tried to drag me down

Down

Down.

So far down that I almost

Drowned in sorrow

Until I realized

That my God loved me

For way too long

I thirsted

A dried-out soul

Sinking into the morass

Of depression

Until it came to me

That my God loved me

He gave me the gift of sunshine

That lit up my soul

Reignited joy

Reminded me that I was lovable

And capable of giving love

All thanks to

The love of my God

His love set me free

From despair and torment

From hatred and loneliness

I started breathing

His fire

Coming from the love of my God

Because of Him I live free

Happy and fulfilled

Blessed in countless ways

My heart beating out

The Love of my God.

Night Dream

Death came knocking upon my door

‘cause I was feeling mighty poor

and then I gazed in that firm face,

the scariest in human race.

“Come, my true friend,” to me She spoke,

to which in tears I quickly broke.

“Please, not now,” I heartily cried.

“This must not be the day I died.

For I have much I want to do

to better live all through and through.”

“Come, my best friend,” She said again.

And soon the room commenced to spin.

Around and around we both went

until my life was nearly spent.

“Arise,” Miss Death quietly said,

and lifted me from the still bed.

Golden rays shone around my head

telling me that I sure was dead

settled in a heavenly place

staring straight at God’s kindly face.

Smiles lit up my worshipping eyes

“Come to me, child,” He softly cries.

Into His open arms I fall,

breaking Dream’s terrible dread pall.

I arose with first light of dawn,

knowing I was not yet Death’s spawn.

But given chance to live again,

I choose to be full free of sin.

So praising God, to whom I sing,

of goodness that the Lord will bring

to simple souls who promise love

with our heavenly Father above.

To be Yours

God came to me today

In the form of a tiny child

Whose fragile hands

Reached up to mine

Crying

Love me

Care for me

As if I were your own

Mary walked with me today

As a lowly washer woman

Whose wrinkled hands

Caressed my soul

Weeping

Help me

Touch me

Stay with me

As if I were your own

Jesus spoke to me today

Through the eyes of a blind man

Whose stumbling walk

Came near to me

Calling

Guide me

Trust me

Worship me

As if I were your own

Take time to see

To truly see

The Spirit deep inside

Of every man and woman

Walking by your side

For Jesus Christ may

Come to you today