National poetry month is wrapping up. Where did April go? I am so glad I was able to hear our state’s poet laureate, Chris La Tray, this month. He certainly inspired me. Have you tried your hand at writing some poetry this month?
Proverbs 16:9
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
My morning devotionals in Dec. 2023 have guided my steps in 2024. The Advent team challenged us to “…hold space for our weariness and our joy… seek a thrill of hope in our hurting world… cry out for comfort… and find many ways to rejoice.”
This is the poem Rev. Sarah wrote to kick off the theme that has inspired my 2024 thus far:
So, unzip the weight you carry around, and let God inspire you also to rejoice in this weary world!
My response to that poem was to let Rev. Sarah Speed inspire me to write my own
“The Last Time I Saw God”
The last time I saw God face to face
I opened the bedroom shades.
God was every color of orange.
I was merely a mortal in awe of it all.
The sun was just rising over the Madison Range.
God was in the sunrise.
I climbed my sanctuary stairs.
God was waiting there for me;
He was the brightest yellow.
The time before that,
A three-year-old was explaining her
understanding of love.
God was the brightest red
in her precocious explanation.
Love is helping others – being kind.
And in between these small gifts
were glimpses of God
in the warm morning hug,
the gathering of church friends,
the joy of guitar accompaniment,
and the sound of congregational singing.
Why yes, we are blessed.
We are more than blessed
for the moments when
God appears and speaks
through the purple haze
in a voice sweet as morning dewdrops,
“Listen, my beloved,
I am with you.
See me, my beloved,
I am here in your every breath.”
That was not the first
nor will it be the last
time I will see
and hear God.
When is the last time you saw God face to face?
Write about it!
God bless you!
Happy National Poetry Month!
Love,
JanBeek
Comments on: "National Poetry Month" (13)
Jan, how blessed am I to read another poem and post from you? You and Sarah vividly describe how one can “see” and experience God at his fullest. This morning, when helping my parents, I saw God. He was in that house, his spirit swirling about my precious parents as I saw the aging look on their faces. Their wondering, longing, and missing days gone by. Accepting where they are; yet, not wanting to let go. It brings tears to my eyes. In me, they see God worked a miracle. He is all around me. The breath in my lungs and the beauty I behold. He spoke to me through your poems. I’m so thankful. God bless you and your family, sweet Jan! 💚❤️💛🙏
Oh, Karla, you are so blessed to have your parents still with you. I’d love ❤️ to have a chance to redo my last years with each of mine!
It truly is a blessing~I understand ❤️❤️❤️
The last time you saw God was the look of embrace between you and the coach. Ever present warmth, love and faith. That’s what I see when I visit
Thank you, Peter, you are so kind! And you know how blessed Bob & I are to have each other. It definitely was a marriage made in heaven! God is good!!❤️👌🏽
I see God in the world around me every day. The flowers the birds the people I meet and the songs we sing in worship. They all take me there!
Beautiful post!
Thank you, Dwight! They all take me there, too! 👌🏽❤️
Love this!
Thank you, “Anonymous” ❤️
Blessings Jan for sharing a special poem from Sarah Speed. But your poem offers a genuine and personal look at being with God. There are times in my own poetry writing when I feel God is looking right over my shoulder. God’s grace and peace shall continue to bless you and Bob.
Thank you very much, Richard. (Btw, which name do you prefer?)
Either name works. To my family and friends, I am known more often as Dick.
I have a cousin, Dick. A name associated with much love ❤️