Tuesday's Trust - Grief's Perpetual Storm

Tuesday's Trust

Grief's Perpetual Storm

Grief surrounds me

Like storm waters over my soul;

Love compounds it,

Ever reminding my heart has a hole...

Tear waters flood this holy domain

Of love for my child,

Overflowing like rain,

Buffeting life's walls, while ruins are piled.

Grief astounds me;

Its invasive forces

Trounce down upon me;

Like death's wildest horses

Crushing life as I once knew it,

Barraging sacred boundaries;

It decimates life and violently spews it.

The tears still pour down

As shoulders, they quake,

Releasing anguished sounds

Of a mother's heart as it breaks.

When will the sun ever come out

Lightening grief's heavy burden?

Oh, but the tears water Death's drought;

Love's roots, only sent deeper, undergird me.

Poem - Grief's Perpetual Storm - Angie Bennett Prince - 08/29/2012

Tuesday's Trust - Meditation 2 ~ When You Can't Feel God's Love...

Tuesday's Trust

Meditation 2

~ When You Can't Feel God's Love...

O My child, when you doubt,

Reach out and touch My blood poured out,

Whipped and beaten mercilessly

Because of My love poured out for thee.

O My child, when you wonder,

The depth of my love for your child,

Hearken your ears to My roaring thunder,

Such passion I have for each precious child.

O My child, when You can't see

The ways of My love in your life,

Lift your eyes to Calvary's Tree,

My love poured out 'gainst Darkness rife.

O My child, taste now your tears

As they flow down your cheeks like rain;

Taste of My love cried out through the years,

My tears fill the oceans with Love's sweet refrain.

O my child, when you can't understand,

Consider My disciples of yesteryear;

They could not see My Master Plan

Though it was spelled out into their ear,

My plan of love carried out,

despite their fear, despite their doubt.

O My child, when you can't feel My power

Used everyday for your loving care,

Smell the fragrance of My lovely flower,

My intimacies poured out for you everyday.

O My child, be still and know I am God,

Many of My ways you can't understand;

Just lift your heart to My heart and nod,

As you do know My love behind My plan.

O my child, raise up your arms by faith;

Show Me thy love by singing Love's praise.

You'll not always understand My loving ways;

Just know Love surrounds you all your days.

Picture thanks to GoodSalt.com

Poem - Meditation 2: When You Can't Feel God's Love... - Angie Bennett Prince - 7/18/2011

Friday's Faith - Meditation - The Lord Comes Down...

Friday's Faith

Meditation

The Lord Comes Down...

The Lord comes down

Into my heart;

His Spirit comes 'roun

His peace to impart.

He lifts my face

To see His eyes;

When we embrace,

My heart complies.

The Lord comes down

Into my heart;

His Spirit comes 'roun

His peace to impart.

He puts my hand

On tomb-stone ajar,

Holds out Love's hand,

I feel Love's scar.

My tears fall down,

His arms surround.

The Lord comes down

Into my heart;

His Spirit comes 'roun

His peace to impart.

Inside the tomb

I smell spice scents ~

Mother of His womb

Brought frankincense,

His body to glove

With her tears of love.

The Lord comes down

Into my heart;

His Spirit comes 'roun

His peace to impart.

He gives me a glimpse

Through Heaven's gates;

I catch a glimpse

Of my sweet child's face ~

Such peace therein

On her smiling face...

I breathe a sigh within

For His amazing grace.

The Lord comes down

Into my heart;

His Spirit comes 'roun

His peace to impart.

I hear the songs

The angels sing

As my heart longs

For my flight on wing...

Such joy untold

Does fill my soul,

His peace does fill

This hole in my soul.

The Lord comes down

Into my heart;

His Spirit comes 'roun

His peace to impart.

As He leans down,

I kiss His face;

As His tears flow down,

His love I taste.

His sacrifice of Love,

He asks me to embrace;

As my tears o'erflow,

Love's tears interlace.

The Lord comes down

Into my heart;

His Spirit comes 'roun

His peace to impart.

Then Love ascends

To Abba's embrace;

Such peace within

As I see Their face...

Love's sacrifice, Love knows ~

To me, Their Love o'erflows:

Feeling Their tears upon my face

As Father, Son, Spirit

~ me --Their child-- embrace;

To endure Love's hurt,

They fill my heart with grace.

The Lord comes down

Into my heart;

His Spirit comes 'roun

His peace to impart.

~ ~ ~

Let the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in Thy sight,

O Lord my strength, and my Redeemer.

Amen.

~Psalm 19:14

Portrait of Jesus, "Prince of Peace" was the first picture of Jesus painted by Akiane Kramarik when she was only 8 years old!

An interesting story: Little Colton Burpo at age 4 had a near-death experience in which he went to Heaven and saw Jesus; his father wrote the New York Times #1 bestseller in non-fiction paperbacks, Heaven is for Real in which he captured some of Colton's amazing experiences in Heaven. (It is a very inspiring book for us child-loss grievers ~ although it is not a "grief" book, it has ministered to us grieving mothers more than any other grief book out there (according to observations from The Compassionate Friends, USA informal polling).

So, anyway, Colton's parents held up every picture of Jesus they could find (Colton's dad is a pastor) after Colton's visit to Heaven, but Colton had said "No" to every one of them, saying they did not resemble Jesus as he saw and remembered Him. Later, Colton's parents were told about the child prodigy Akiane Kramarik, and that she had painted a picture of Jesus. When they found the picture and showed it to Colton, he just very matter-of-factly said, "That's Him!"

Akiane's mother was Athiest, her father a lapsed Catholic when Akiane began having "divinely inspired visions" after which she began translating into poetry and art. By age four, Akiane was painting and writing poetry. She has appeared on CNN, World News Tonight, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. Akiane too has a book entitled Akiane; I have the book, and it is very inspiring. It has many of her poems and many of her paintings, including this "Prince of Peace."

Other pictures, thanks to turnbacktogod.com

Tuesday's Trust - No Scar? ~Amy Carmichael

Tuesday's Trust

No Scar?

~Amy Carmichael

Hast thou no scar?

No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?

I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,

I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,

Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?

Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent,

Leaned me against a tree to die; and rent

By ravening beasts that compassed me, I swooned:

Hast thou no wound?

No wound? No scar?

Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,

And pierc-ed are the feet that follow me;

But thine are whole: can he have followed far

Who has no wound nor scar?

~Amy Carmichael

*****

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast

and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands;

your walls are ever before Me."

~Psalm 49:15-16 NIV

*****

"For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ,

not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake."

~Philippians 1:29

Friday's Faith - Are Our Brains Strange, or... Preparing to Change?

Friday's Faith

Are Our Brains Strange,

or... Preparing to Change?

Do you think it strange

When you can't trust your brain?

Before you can speak,

Your mind skips a beat;

Details once remembered --

Not key, so they up and skimpered.

Folks who need you strong

Now look at you wrong,

Not ~ "tested for a time,"

but, "Oh my! She's lost her mind!"

When our child was killed,

Were our brain cells killed ~

Or were they pushed aside

For a much bigger task assigned?

We won't always understand though,

For there's much in Heav'n we can't know.

But we trust it all will fit into place

When we see our Jesus face to face.

Be patient with your brain...

It's the storm before grief's rain.

Even as God will comfort give,

He'll teach anew how to live.

Do you think it strange

When you can't trust your brain?

Perhaps God uses pain

To redesign our brain...

To focus on what matters

Away from all that clatters.

What we think is strange

On this planet earth

Is perhaps needed change

To shrink our "god-like" girth,

To remind us of our need

To hearken to His voice and heed.

God, rework the neural pathways

That we may follow Your ways.

In this state of flux, move in ~

Give us hearts that yearn for Thee

"O God, Create a clean heart within,

And then, Renew a right spirit within me!"

Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.

~Psalm 51:10 (ASV)

ASV - American Standard Version of The Holy Bible

Poem - Are Our Brains Strange, or... Preparing to Change? - Angie Bennett Prince - 1/6/2011