I'd love to hear any thoughts or criticism on the poem below. It's the first one I wrote in the new year and is definitely still "in revision." I hope it encourages you as you seek to have a godly perspective amidst suffering, small or great.
Also (this is slightly off topic) the other day, I was searching for verses that talked about joy and was struck by Job 6:10. It says that Job's joy in unrelenting pain (now that's suffering) was that he did not deny the words of the Holy One. This is a different way of thinking about joy than I normally do--joy did not come after the removal of pain, or even from the hope of its removal, but in resisting the temptation to sin (here, deny God) in the midst of intense suffering.
No matter what I go through as a Christian, I want to have true joy from knowing that my life proclaims to others (and does not deny) that "God is who He reveals himself to be in His Word (both through the Bible and His son Jesus) and every word (every promise) will prove true even if my situation shows no evidence (that I can see) of it." I know that this is only possible through AMAZING grace.
Here's the poem:
This Trial
Isaiah 53:4 "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows..."
As wind comes to snow on branches
and brushes off a place for leaves,
come to this with faith--
this: the barrenness before green.
As silence comes to a woman
and the timid man she loves,
come to this with faith--
this: the quietness before speech.
As song comes to the invalid
after the fever's left his head,
come to this with faith--
this: the restlessness before peace.
As a pioneer comes to water,
stripped of his dirty clothes and shoes,
come to this with faith--
this: the nakedness before clean.
Why this? Jesus, why this?
Come to this with faith in me--
this: the brokenness before free!
About Me
- Lizzie
- I've been given a new life in Jesus, and that life is worth writing about in prose, in poetry, in song. Here goes.
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3 comments:
this is good. i don't find the imagery to be too cliche, and there is the resonance of truth. the one thing that didn't seem to evoke quite the right picture was the word "timid." i don't know this guy, and i might well be wrong. "timid" tells me that he's like a mouse - you make a sound and he'll be off running. i'd like to think he's got a little courage. sure, he's scared, but i don't think that's necessarily the same... not my words, not my story - just what i see, maybe something to think about.
You know that was one of the words I also was unsure about! I think you are right...Thanks for reading and making a comment! Revision, revision. :)
yeah, i tend to write mine fairly quickly; most of my revision tends to happen as i transfer things from paper to computer. i just sort of try to check the flow as i type, and make sure the picture that's painted is as close as possible to the one in my mind... glad to be of help!
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