This isn’t a new poem (I originally wrote a portion of it 3-4 years ago), but when this time of year comes around, I bring it out again and edit/add to it. This is its most recent reiteration. I hope it encourages everyone who reads it with wonder and comfort in what Jesus has done for us.

I am Barabbas,
the guilty set free –
Jesus, the Son of Man
condemned to die for me.
I was released
but he was crucified.
Jesus hung on a tree;
justice was satisfied.

Crown of thorns,
enthroned on a beam,
“Hail king of the Jews,”
blood flowing in a stream –
Suffering Savior,
slaughtered like a lamb,
he bears the awful weight
of broken, sinful man.

The Son of God –
the great I AM –
lifted up from the earth
just as the Father planned.
The Beloved Son
was hated and condemned,
Fatherly love restrained
until all wrath was spent.

“It is finished”
as Scripture fulfilled,
the God-man Jesus Christ
for all mankind was killed.
Laid in a tomb
but storming hell’s gates,
He crushed the snake’s head
and removed death’s sharpened blade.

Risen from the dead –
Oh, look and see!
Jesus, the glorified King,
His grave lies empty!
He calls to the sinner
saying, “Come to me!”
Triumphant Savior
who sets the guilty free.

There’s silence before a storm,
and there’s silence before a dawn.
Shadows are still reigning,
but the promise of light’s on the run.
I made it through the night
because I knew day would come –
All that was distortion,
put right by the triumphant sun.
Here’s a promise for your shadows:
One day midnight will succumb.
There’s nothing night can do,
but hope he can outrun the sun.
Look up from obscured lands –
see the glow lining the horizon.
Hear reverent silence fall,
then celebratory procession.
You made it through the night
because you knew day would come
and every darkness banished
by the power of a risen Sun.

There’s silence before a storm,
and there’s silence before a dawn.
Shadows are still reigning,
but the promise of light’s on the run.
I made it through the night
because I knew day would come –
All that was distortion,
put right by the triumphant sun.
Here’s a promise for your shadows:
One day midnight will succumb.
There’s nothing night can do,
but hope he can outrun the sun.
Look up from obscured lands –
see the glow lining the horizon.
Hear reverent silence fall,
then celebratory procession.
You made it through the night
because you knew day would come
and every darkness banished
by the power of a risen Sun.

You were made to explore,
to seek out more
than you knew before.
You can’t ignore
the urge to walk
through that door.
Don’t you feel it
in your core –
the urge to restore
what darkness tore
from your soul?
Not to keep score,
but how many times
will you look back to before
like nursing a sore,
because you’re afraid
to fight anymore
because you feel like
you’ve lost the war?
Let me tell you:
You were meant for more.
Don’t look back
to how you
your soul was fractured,
all the ways you
failed and wandered,
and the good
you squandered.
Fix your eyes forward
to the Lamb who
was slaughtered
and conquered sin,
the One who
redeems and restores.
Neither your broken core
nor all of the pieces
that lie on the floor
can ever thwart
what God has in store
for those whose
sins Jesus bore.
It is finished forevermore.

Do you know someone who may feel forgotten or needs encouragement? As I’ve been thinking about goals for this next year, I’ve been been considering how short life is and how that should impact how I live. Part of that is actively looking for ways to care for and encourage those around me (I so want to grow in this area!).

This poem is a reminder for me to look for opportunities to seek out, pray for, and encourage those who may be quietly struggling or feel overlooked.

His weary eyes reveal
the world has not been kind to him.
Disappointment has been following him,
the pain of others clinging within.
It’s so much to bear,
yet no one seems to care
as he walks on this road alone.

In his eyes it’s plain to see,
but no one’s been looking,
therefore no one sees –
Forgotten in plain sight

Turning her head aside,
a small tear is dropping from her eye
Year after year she tried to get by,
time after time fighting to try.
It’s so much to bear.
If only people would stare,
they would see her stumble alone.

In her eyes, it’s plain to see,
but no one is looking,
therefore no one sees –
Forgotten in plain sight.

In their eyes, it’s plain to see,
but you’re not looking,
therefore you don’t see –
Forgotten in plain sight.

Don’t turn your eyes aside.
Look closely for the weary eyes.
Listen intently for the lonely cries,
lest in their misery they die.
It’s not too much to bear,
showing someone you care,
so they know they aren’t alone.

It may look like a tomb, but is it a womb, seeming as though it leads to death, but really to life? Does the darkness produce light when it has spent its vapory night? After all, “Light shines in the darkness” – It is a promise. Destruction may loom,
or good may be about to bloom. When fire strips flesh from our bones, what remains? Is it weakness or is it strength? Are we left with a hungry void of a life we once enjoyed, or are we filled with what redemption rebuilds? We don’t know what will grow and flow, or what will die and why. But we live, we give, we love, we strive – We survive in a world too big for our minds and too small for our hearts, remembering all the confounding will melt into the astounding of a better to come…

May all your days
be ever sunny beams
and your heart overflow
with ever hopeful beams.
But when the cold
of winter comes
and sends a shiver
down your spine,
may the Light that shines
in deepest night
warm your heart with
a hope that’s evergreen.

May your eyes flicker
with ever joyful gleams
and your soul glide
on ever flowing streams.
But when smiles fade
from trouble’s clench
and death’s sudden gaze,
may the Child whose foot
crushed the serpent’s head
still your heart with
a peace that’s evergreen.

May your story be
ever brighter themes
about an everlasting love
that will always redeem.
But when your story
comes to a final end,
your strength faded
and your heart spent,
may you rejoice to rise
to the great promise
you trusted all your life
and your Lord raises you
to a life that’s evergreen.

A few things I’ve been thinking about this morning: Zechariah 9 and Psalm 34.

God keeps his promises.

We live in the glorious reality of the promised King and Savior referred to in Zechariah. Christ was the glorious fulfillment of that promise!

My prayer is that today each of us would reserve time to taste and see the goodness of God.

May we taste and see the goodness of God, first and foremost in the person of Jesus Christ.

May we taste and see the goodness of God in the people he has placed in our lives.

May we taste and see the goodness of God in how he has sovereignly planned every detail of our lives.

May we taste and see the goodness of God in all of the gifts, big and small, that he has given us to enjoy.

May we taste and see the goodness of God in his promise to be a refuge, deliverer, and comfort in suffering.

I pray that wherever you find yourself today – whether you are most aware of your abundance or most aware of your losses – that you would taste and see the specific, loving care of the Lord for you.

Happy Thanksgiving Friends! 💗

My way of processing my reading of Psalm 27 this morning:

*My way of processing my reading of Psalm 27 this morning.

Through long and weary days,
many tears create a haze.
I cannot understand
your mysterious ways.

How is my soul to find its joy
in the grinding of endless toil?
The burden grows larger
as my strength grows smaller
and crushes my will beneath.

Harder labor doesn’t produce more grace.
It is steadfast love and faithfulness.
One thing I must ask, one desire to embrace:
Strength will come when I seek Your face.

When danger invades every place
and I feel the storm’s gaze,
my heart explodes
with anxious dismay.

How is my soul to be restored
when waves keep rushing in?
The waves tower higher
as my soul falls lower
and drown my hopes within.

Consuming fear doesn’t produce more grace,
It is steadfast love and faithfulness.
One thing I must ask, one desire to embrace:
Help will come as I seek your face.

In every dark and dreary place,
You still pour out your loving grace.
When my heart is perplexed
by what my mind cannot trace,
You have said, “Seek my face.”

It may look like a tomb, but is it a womb, seeming as though it leads to death, but really to life? Does the darkness produce light when it has spent its vapory night? After all, “Light shines in the darkness” – It is a promise. Destruction may loom,
or good may be about to bloom. When fire strips flesh from our bones, what remains? Is it weakness or is it strength? Are we left with a hungry void of a life we once enjoyed, or are we filled with what redemption rebuilds? We don’t know what will grow and flow, or what will die and why. But we live, we give, we love, we strive – We survive in a world too big for our minds and too small for our hearts, remembering all the confounding will melt into the astounding of a better to come.