Shared Destiny

"I shall not die,"
the child believes
and laughs in her delight.

"I came to die,"
the savior cries
In anguish to the night.

"I too shall die,"
the child soon learns
and feels the stab of fear.

"I live forever,"
Jesus proclaims.
"Look up, for I am here."

I Saw a Vision Once

I saw a vision once

On an ordinary day
In my ordinary way
I was avoiding 
An urge to pray.

The Spirit kept tugging,
kept gently bugging
while I ignored
the voice of the Lord.

But He would not stop,
He would not quit,
Until I found 
A place to sit,
To open up my heart and say,
"All right, all ready, I will pray."

What happened then was all His grace.
He snatched me up to a heavenly place.
I saw His throne, I saw His love,
a thunderous river from above,
pouring down on us below,
an endless, ever-giving flow.

The years have come, the years have gone,
and yet the vision lingers on.
When days are dark and nights are long,
When the heart falls silent without song,
I let the vision rise once more,
I stand at heaven's open door.

Lift up your face
toward His throne.
The Spirit says "Come and taste!"
Listen! Go now. Make haste.

Headed Home

Sometimes the years are heavy,
burdened with the weight 
of remembered sins.
Sometimes the years are light
like a summer breeze
rushing by my cheek.

In my weariness you strengthen me,
in my exuberance you anchor me.
When all things shift and change
You are the calm center,
the unchanging beacon
lighting the pathway home.

Transformation

I bring you a gift, O my Lord.
Take it if you will, 
this granite rock. 
I lay it on your altar,
hard and cold,
a shriveled lump.
And now I kneel and lean to you,
my mouth open to receive.
Your life quickens me.
Your blood revives me.
Your divinity transforms.
In our shared silence
a heart begins to beat.

Lover of my soul

Lovers are never apart.
Their souls are ever watching,
Aware of their beloved.
Beside each other hand in hand
Or a thousand miles away,
they remain together,
united in love.

You and I are never apart.
For you are ever watching,
Who are named Faithful and True.
When I stumble your hand
holds me with a lover's care.
You keep us together
united in love.

The Fall

The fall

Humiliated
I double over, stabbed
by sin's sharp blade.
Where can I hide
my shameful wound?
Let the earth swallow me.
Let the mountains fall
and bury me in rubble.

Humble
the Lord stoops down
lower than I can ever fall.
With wounded hands 
He lifts me out of the dust,
Sets me upright once more.
I am enfolded in the arms
of everlasting mercy. 

It's love

In the hospital lights burn,
driving away the night.
A mother kneels exhausted
at her child's bedside
and bows her head in prayer.

It's love that gets us through the night.

In the garden
the son of God falls
to the ground arms outstretched,
pleading with his Father,
"Thy will be done."

It's love that gets us through the night.

Her child is dying.
Darkness has entered her soul,
hard as nails, sharp as a spear.
She cannot breathe.
Why has God forsaken her?

It's love that gets us through the night.

On the cross
Jesus bows his head, exhausted.
Darkness assails his soul.
He cannot breathe, yet he calls out,
praying to his Father.

It's love that gets us through the night.

In the depths of black despair,
hear the echo of his prayer,
"Father, into your hands ..."

It's love that gets us through the night.

Waiting

Around the world
the people of God kneel.
They bend like ripe wheat
to the wind of the spirit.

From east to west
the cry rises to heaven:
Christ has died, Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.

Bend down your ear and listen--
Lord, how much longer?
The fields slumber under the sun
awaiting the trumpet blast.

Thoughts on a parable

Once fearful I buried my small coin
and quenched the song within my heart,
but songs unsung are a bitter weight,
and gifts change to dust when left apart.

Once too bold I shouted my own tune,
for coins will spend for good or ill,
until I saw how tarnished they grew --
those few worthless coins outside His will.

Fearful still, I've opened wide this purse
for the coins you give us must be spent.
I cast them upon the wind and pray
you will bless with grace my poor intent.

Broken Streets

O Lord, your feet were nailed to the cross to show us the beginning of the only true path.

Broken streets we walk upon
on wounded feet
toward a dawn
that ever dims and fades away --
the false light of
deceiving day.

Your Sorrowful Street makes us whole
to walk there heals
a wounded soul.
It leads us to a city fair --
eternal day is dawning there.

Forgiveness

How slowly our hearts open to your love, O Lord

Forgiveness is
a fragrant blossom
sweetly covering
barren branches,
the promise of
much fruit to come.