Ichabod?

The glory has departed
and soon the house will follow.

Nothing holds her here
The laughter of the living,
The words of the wise,
The folly of the fool,
recorded on her walls
are consigned to silence.
A strip of tin from the roof
flaps in the wind
as if to say good-by
but still she waits.

Does she wait for science
to unlock her mysteries?
Or to be laid to rest in peace,
destiny fulfilled?

She was laid to rest
in a blaze of glory.

The Shift

(Cheat River)

Yesterday and every day before
She waited for me to come
Today, no one waits.

My soul retreats like sap           
in dormant trees of winter

I wonder
Do they feel the whipping wind?   
the chill of draping snow?
the heaviness of the dark?


They're telling me to rest
in hope of spring to be
when winter's work is done.

But unto you who fear My Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his beams and you shall go forth and gambol like calves released from the stall and leap for joy...Malachi 4:2

The Vigil

She lies in state
not quite gone
still breathing

The watchers wrap around her bed
spill over and fill the house,
an entourage to escort the faithful one
to the celebration on the other side.

They wait as time drags his feet
to give them moments of gold.
Murmers rise and fall
in rhythm with her breathing
She speaks
and every word is captured
in buckets of tears
and gales of laughter

They watch,
as they text, crochet, pace,
play Solitaire,
work online, eat, pray,
hold her hand, sleep.
Morning comes,
Her caregivers are strewn on their beds
as she breathes on.

As they wait and watch
golden moments become golden days
to be captured and held in store
for rainy days.

She tiptoes to the door of death,
turns, then walks away
She is waiting, she says,
for her Master to call her name.
Stillness pervades the bedside
Voices fade to whispers
as this becomes sacred ground.
Gently her Shepherd comes
to claim His own,
She alone hears His voice
and swiftly answers His call.

Who was this woman?
A pillar of faith
Physically weak, spiritually strong,
She would say, "It wasn't me,
It was my faithful Lord,
It was His amazing grace."

 

Two Red Bowls

      It's something of a family joke~two cheap bowls that keep showing up at family dinners filled with food, usually a tossed salad. It got me thinking.

Two red plastic bowls
Inexpensive, disposable
red plastic bowls
From the bottom shelf
at Wally World
Use 'em once, throw 'em away.



But they were bought
by one who washed them
and filled them
with all good things

To serve at family feasts
year after year after year.
Two red plastic bowls
Set apart, valuable
red plastic bowls.

It was thrift that moved the buyer of the bowls
But is was stop-at-nothing Love
that purchased earthen vessels
to carry heaven's glory,
The temporary
to contain the eternal,
and the stressed out to be a home
for the Prince of Peace!

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God!...I John 3:1
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

It's Christmas!

Snow dresses fields in white

Sunbeams wreathe the hills in gold 


Clouds adorn themselves with red

Birds embellish trees

All nature joins to sing
Glory to the newborn King!

 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad....before the Lord: for He cometh!!!!...Psalm 96:11-13

She knows?

She knows the answers
black or white, no in-between
In gray mist, a swan.

Does she cover it?
excuse it, deny it exists?
Or bow before the One
Who knows swans.

Sanctuary

You are with me always, this I know
But sometimes I need to fly
to some cathedral not made by man   
to wait in silence
for You.















We have thought on Your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of Your temple. Psalm 48:9