Things I've Learned of Late

A lot can happen in four years.

A lot can happen over just one year.
A lot can happen in a semester.
A lot can happen in a month.

A lot can happen in a week.

And a lot can happen in one day.

Rocked... In Arms of Love

Like a Father or a Mother who rocks their crying baby to sleep, God "rocks us" or "rocks the boat" to give us peace, using the storm to shake off and strip away that which will continue to hurt us if it is allowed to stay - like barnacles* stuck to the belly of a boat. He is in the storm. And it's always out of love. What would we think of a parent who just let their baby keep crying? God is just being a good parent by shaking us up and down on His shoulder; He knows that the end result - if we submit to His "rocking" - will spare us more tears and still the turmoil inside of us, filling us with peace and a sense of safety and protection in our Father's arms as we lean on His shoulder through the chaos and storm.

* "Barnacles on the hull of a ship increase friction and can reduce the vessel's speed. The ship must then be put in dry dock to have the bottom scraped." -according to an Animal Planet article on Barnacles.
He's being a good shipmaster; taking care of His ship by cleaning and freeing it from parasites that suck efficiency and life from the vessel.

May 24, 2013

From Here to There

In a flash-black
You long for the past
And all its heartfelt moments
You know everything, meant something,
But now, nothing makes sense

What happened, to the dreams I thought I was living
Honey, you ain't seen livin' yet
No, you ain't seen nothing yet

So you look back, but it's too late,
And you gotta move ahead
You wanna lie down, cause you feel faint,
But you choose to move ahead

But you break down and turn around
Hopeless and despaired
Won't you look up, lift up your head
Cause God'll get you there,
Therefore have no fear, oh!

You're homesick, and you're so sick,
of Not havin' a clue
Oh Honey, just trust me,
Believe what I can do!
For I make all things new
I make all things new;
Yes, that includes you,
For I make all things new...


Written January 6, 2012. (lyrics)

Salty-sweet.

the secret place between my helmet and my head
and - like music that's been there all along
'fore I had skill to sing its song -
a stark taste of tomorrow

the guard is changed
my garments rearranged
everything inside my bag begins to seem so strange

soon it will be nothing
so nothing shall advance
until i disembark what feels of sad romantic yesterdance.

the signs i did not see before
come knocking at apartment doors
and make their way up through each floor
to make what was unseen before
seen and clean and so much more
than it ever could have been before.

so sing these sweet and salty songs
then let them sleep and fade;
for to season fish with weighty rocks
is not why salt is made.

---

Written May 21st, 2013.

Dusk and Dawn

The sun set within sight

As it gave its last lights

Of love, joy, even hope –

And that’s when yesterday died.

Yesterday was lovely,

Full of hopes and dreams,

Even though some roads I walked

I did not walk with ease;

Despite the rain and rocky roads,

Yesterday was beautiful;

Through rain the sun did shine so bright

As I gazed upon prismatic light,

Wishing maybe, wished I might

Swiftly, surely, soon arrive.

But yesterday is over –

There is no going back;

I know a shining future waits,

But where will it be at?

“God,” I called out,

Into the darkening sky,

“You said there was hope –

Where have you gone?” I cried;

How could a thing so beautiful,

A sunset oh so bright,

So hastily conclude

Leading only to dark night?

But as embers did glow

And warm fire fade

To mere sparks of memory,

Burning away,

I caught sight of a sign

Reigning over the sky

Saying, “Wait, believe, I am larger than life:

As I make the sun set, I will indeed make it rise;

For glory’s not measured by wealth, strength or size,

But by the tears of meek love pouring out from your eyes;

Stay strong, move forward, take heart and believe,

For surely great things are coming to be -

This is only the start to a wonderful story."

He lights up our eyes when it's hardest to see

No matter how bleak or unlikely things seem;

Our God is Faithful, Good, Just and True

He whispers sweet love and He carries us through:

"Keep going, keep trusting, keep looking, and see

That every last rainbow was put there by ME."

---

Written January 14, 2012. / Unearthed and revised May 15, 2013.