Tuesday, August 25, 2020

More Than I

 I hold you tight and kiss your brow

I count your breaths and soothe your frame

I memorize each line, each curve, each hair on your head

I search your features for hints of me, for shadows of your father

I carry you until my body aches and then some more


I weep when you tire me

I melt when you smile

I stay the whole night without rest when I fear for your well-being


I trace your fingers, elated when they curl around mine

I tickle your toes, ecstatic when you giggle even once


I pray for you daily, hourly, moment by moment

I beg the Lord that He will let you know Him


The world is changing

It grows darker by the day

I feel your light and try to be yours


Your smile, so unconditional 

Your eyes, so beautiful and kind

I give you all that I have and wish I could give more


When you fret, I fret

When you soar, I soar


No words describe the way you own my heart

And it shatters me to think that God loves you more than I

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

No Further Than a Lamp

I remember jotting down this short set of lyrics in college chapel years ago. The sentiment that was true then still is now. As much as we'd like to know the whole story about where our lives are going, God's loving wisdom only shows us that one little next step at a time.

I read His Word
For it has been my guide
In every thought,
Each turn that I decide;
But what He shows
Won't go as far as I would want to see,
I'll only know
One step ahead of me.

His Word is sure,
A light unto my path;
His love is pure,
And spares me from His wrath;
But I must trust
That though uncertain be my days,
He leads my way
No further than a lamp.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

'Tis Good to Know

Life is never going to be perfect. But it's truly good to know whom we have holding our hand.

‘Tis good to know amidst all earthly woe
That God’s great wisdom hath ordained it so;
And with a father’s love He stays His hand
That all who live beneath His dear command
Shall not be overcome by what’s bestowed.

When hardships strike the heart and crush the soul,
‘Tis good to know our God is in control;
And if He did allow the tears to flow,
His love, in greater measure, shall we know,
For in His arms, all wounds shall be made whole.

When expectations loom unfairly high,
‘Tis good to know our God is ever nigh;
And even if by earthly rules we fail,
It is His will that shall at end prevail,
And to His will alone we need comply.

Unparalleled by anything we face
‘Tis the sweet comfort of His warm embrace;
And when the weary shadowlands we leave,
No more to cry, to toil, to weep, to grieve,
‘Tis good to know we’ll reach a better place.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Perfect Plan

Life isn't always what we expect it to be. No matter how much we try to map out our own lives, we can't control how things truly do turn out. At the end of the day, embracing God's timeline is always the way to His perfect plans.

Verse 1:
When what You give is not to give
When You withhold as You think best
And when the life I have to live
Appears inferior to the rest,
I turn my heart to who You are,
To every way that You’re enough
Because have I or have I not,
It’s still a way You show Your love

Chorus:
No good thing do You withhold
From the ones who follow You
Every sheep within Your fold
Knows the Shepherd’s ever true
And no matter what You grant
I’ll take gladly from Your hand
Knowing that I can or can’t
Is still Your perfect plan.

Verse 2:
When I would try and fail to do,
When I can’t be what’s asked of me
And when whatever I pursue
Is not what You deem meant to be,
I turn my eyes to You on high
And ponder on Your perfect will
Because however I may fall,
You stay our God, and I’ll be still.

Friday, July 25, 2014

A Teacher's Prayer

Oh Lord, may You help us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling...

Verse:
You called the little children, “Come to Me”
And taught us what Your kingdom ought to be
So help me, Lord, to follow faithfully
To bring to You the ones You bring to me

Chorus:
Help me be Your hands to give them sight
Help me be Your arms to lend them might
Help me be Your rod to teach them wrong from right
Help me be their guide towards Your light

Verse:
You called me long before I knew of You
And loved so much You paid all I had due
So when the children need such patience too
Please help me love them just the way You do

Chorus:
Help me be Your hands to wipe their tears
Help me be Your arms to calm their fears
Help me be Your voice so every child may hear
That through weary roads, You guide and cheer

Friday, June 20, 2014

Fly for Me

As I listened to the testimony of an alumna who has gone on into mission work in Nepal, I was overwhelmed by the privilege to be a teacher. May the young faces in the classroom reach more people and achieve more wonders for God's kingdom than I could ever do. She inspired this blank verse poem as well as a hope I carry with me as a new school year begins.

I have no wings to fly me lands away...
No wind to make me soar above the sea...
But I know those who will do so one day
And take off to the very ends of earth

I have one life to live and give and love...
That more may learn to do the same one day...
And people I may never meet and know
Would feel God's love through those I love today.

I can but plant a seed within each heart...
More years must pass till roots and boughs will grow
But trees that spread their branches out one day
Will lend their shade to generations more.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Summit

Struggles abound in life no matter how ideal one's situation may seem to be. Trials serve a purpose, but as much as I would like to think that I would eventually know the "why" behind every difficulty, there's no promise of such understanding on this side of heaven. Nonetheless, I pray for the faith to finish this journey.

Verse:
I wanted, Lord, to stand atop the mountain,
But not to scale its treacherous ascent;
But though I knew that vict’ry was for certain,
I had to learn what faith and patience meant.

Chorus:
For if I were to stand upon the mountain,
I had to know how best to fare up there;
So while Your perfect blessing is for certain,
It comes to only those who learn to bear
With all the twists and turnings of the pathway
That lead towards the summit’s glorious day

Verse:
So help me, Lord, to never be disheartened
When days grow dark and narrow paths grow steep,
To not compare how others may have charted
But bear the yoke you’ve given me to keep.

Chorus:
And as I climb along this mighty mountain,
Please grant me the humility to bear
The thoughts and feelings that would be for certain
Awaiting those who finally get there.
And help me realize that on this pathway,
I gain what I would need that final day.