WORDS OF THOUGHT

THIS POEM WAS GIVEN TO ME TO PUT ON BY A SPECIAL COUSIN- IT WAS FOR HER SISTER-IN-LAW THAT DIED.

GOD SAW HER GETTING TIRED

God saw her getting tired,
a cure was not to be.
So he wrapped her in his loving arms
and whispered come with me.
She suffered much in silence,
her spirit did not bend
She faced her pain with courage,
until the very end
She tried too hard to stay with us,
her fight was all in vain
God took her to his loving home,
and freed her from all the pain.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

RISE UP SLOWLY, ANGEL

Rise up, slowly, Angel.
I cannot let you go.
Just drift softly midst the faces,
In sorrow now bent low.

Ease the searing anger,
Born in harsh unyielding truth
That Death could steal my loved one
From the glowing blush of youth.

Rise up slowly, Angel.
Do not leave me hear alone,
Where the warmth of mortal essence
Lies replaced by cold, hard stone.

Speak to me in breezes
Whispered through the drying leaves,
And caress my brown with raindrops
Filterd by the sheltering trees

Rise up slowly, Angel,
For I cannot hear the song
Which calls you through the shadows
Into the light beyond.

Wrap me in your downy cape
Of sunshine, warm with love,
And kiss a tear-stained mother's face
With moonlight from above.

Then wait for me at sunset,
Beside the lily pond,
And guide me safely homeward
To your world,which lies beyond.

Just spread your wings and take me
In reunion’s sweet embrace,
And we shall soar, together,
To a different time and place.

UNKNOWN

AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

Fearing the battle was over
and I'd already lost the war
I was tired of trying and failing.
I just couldn't fight anymore.

So, dragging my battle-scarred body,
I crawled to the foot of the cross.
And i sobbed."Oh please, Father forgive me.
But I tried...I tried...and still lost."

Then the air grew silent around me.
I heard his voice just as clear as the dawn:
"Oh, my child, though you are tired and weary,
you can't stop, you have to go on."

At the foot of the Cross, where I met Him
At the foot of the Cross, where He died,
I felt love, as I knelt in His presence.
I felt hope, as I looked in His eyes.

Then He gathered me lovingly to Him,
as around us God"s light clearly shone.
And together we walked through my lifetime
to heal every wound I had known.

I found bits of my dreams, long forgotten,
and pieces of my life on the floor.
But I watched as He tenderly blessed them,
and my life was worth living once more.

I knew then why I had been losing.
I knew why I had not grown.
At the foot of the Cross came the answer:
I'd been fighting the battle alone.

At the foot of the Cross, where I met Him,
At the foot of the Cross, where He died,
Then I knew I could face any challenge
together--just my Lord and I.

AUTHOR : MARCIA KRUGH LEASER

PSALM 23- THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

FOOTPRINTS

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it. "LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I need you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied, "My precious, precious child; I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

UNKNOWN

HEAVEN'S GROCERY STORE

I was walking down life's highway a long time ago.
One day I saw a sign that read, "Heaven's Grocery Store".
As I got a little closer the door came open wide,
and when I came to myself I was standing inside.
I saw a host of Angels, they were standing everywhere.
One handed me a blanket and said, "My Child shop with care".
Everything a Christian needs is in that grocery store,
and all you can't carry, come back the next day for more.

First, I got some Patience, Love was in the same row.
Further down was Understanding, needed everywhere you go.
I got a box or two of Wisdom, a bag or two of Faith,
I just couldn't miss the Holy Ghost, it was all over the place.
I stopped to get some Strength and Courage to help me run this race,
but then my blanket was getting full, and I remembered I needed Grace.

I didn't forget Salvation, which like the others was free,
so I tried to get enough of that to save both you and me.
Then I started to the counter to pay my grocery bill,
for I thought I had everything to do my master's will.
As I went up the aisle, I saw Prayer and had to put it in,
for I knew when I stepped outside, I would run right into sin.
Peace and Joy were plentiful, they were on the last shelf.
Song and Praises were hanging near, so I just helped myself.

Then I said to the Angel, "How much do I owe"?
The Angel smiled and said, "Just take them everywhere you go."
Again, I politely asked "How much do I really owe?"
The Angel smiled again and said, "My Child, Jesus Paid Your Bill
A Long Time Ago."

Ron DeMarco
&
Friend

©Copyright 1990
With permission only.

THE ROSE BEYOND THE WALL

Near shady wall a rose once grew,
budded and blossemed in God's free light,
Watered and fed by morning dew,
Shedding it's sweetness day and night.

As it grew and blossemed fair and tall,
Slowly rising to loftier height,
It came to a crevice in the wall,
Through which there shone a beam of light.

Onward it crept with added strength,
With never a thought of fear or pride,
It followed the crevice-length
And unfolded itself on the other side.

The light, the dew, the broadening view,
Weve found the same as they were before
And it lost itself in beauties new,
Breathing its fragrance more and more.

Shall claim of death cause us to grieve
And make our courage faint or fall?
Nay, let us faith and hope recieve
The rose still grows beyond the wall.

Scattering fragrance far and wide,
Just as it did in days or yore,
Just as it did on the other side,
Just as it will forevermore.

A.L.Frink

A CHILD LOANED

I'll send for a while, a child of mine, He said, For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he's dead. It may be six or seven years or twenty two or twenty three, but will you till I callhim back, take care of him for me? I can not promise he will stay, since all from earth return, but there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn. I'v looked the wide world over, in search for teachers true, and from the throngs that crowd lifes lanes I have selected you.I fancied that I heard them say, "Dear Lord thy will be done." For all the joy thy child will bring the risk of grief we'll run. We shelter him in tenderness, we'll love him while we may, and for all the happiness thy child will bring forever greatful stay. And if God's angels come for him much sooner than we'd planned, we'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.

UNKNOWN

Footprints Across our Heart

The door is closed. The lights turned off.
The closet stands bare.
All the room once waiting...
For the child that should be there.

Sorrow wells up inside of us.
Our tears, an endless flow.
All because we miss the child...
The child we'll never know

No camping trips, No soccer games,
Nor late evening talks,
No baseball camps or shopping trips
No shaded moutain walks.

We have not even memories
To help through times like these
We only have each other ,
as we go down on our knees...

To plead with you, our Father,
To take this pain away...
To help us know your love
will guide us through each day.

We may never know the reasons
For this terrible tragedy;
But we can know you love us
through all life's mysteries.

Our time was far too brief;
It was over before its start...
But our little angel left behind
Footprints Across Our Heart

Poem by W.Patrick Queen

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need; by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath.
Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barret Browning

TINY ANGEL

For a brief and fleeting moment,
An angel touched the ground;
With tiny wings and halo,
And sweet, soft angel sounds.

Blessing the lives of others,
In beauty and in grace;
Those who saw her knew that God
Had kissed her tiny face.

The angel came for reasons,
We may not understand;
Her journey brief, with gifts so great,
And guided by God's hand.

For the angel left so much behind,
Left nothing here undone;
She gave herself so others live,
Just like her Father's Son.

So, rest now tiny angel,
Your work on earth is through;
In the beauty of God's perfect love,
We saw His gift in you.

Allison Chambers Coxsey
c2001

Allison's Heart...Poetry to touch the heart and soul