transition

day had come

but the moon hung strong

in the western sky

the new coming

before the old surrenders

we stop here to breathe

in the middle

while the changes cross

behind and before us

ever in place

the page has turned

we have arrived back in Canada

as I try to breathe

in the strangeness this morning

the Lord was waiting for me

before I could pick up my pen

if you know you are in Me

in My hands

then even in the rapid fire changes

you need not feel out of place

you are where I have you and hold you

in Africa, In Canada, anywhere

your home is in Me

stay here, do not move

without Me

where could you find more safety

or more peace?

Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. 

[Live in Me, and I will live in you.] 

Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself 

without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, 

neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.

John 14:4 Amplified

Alive!

He is alive

and the world

is forever changed

 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said

Matthew 28:6a NIV

repost from 2015

seeking liquescence

I know not why fingers

cling to what was never

meant for holding

frozen I pray

for fluidity, release

into liquescence

we are on the move

chasing vision

pliable in obedience

may God form, reform

these lives not ours

but His

in flux, spinning

my heart stills

in His hand

So I went to the potter’s house, 

and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. 

Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, 

as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, 

the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot

Jeremiah 18:3-4 The Message

sifting again

two years ago

we were sifting, sorting

tossing and donating 

pieces of our North American lives

preparing for our African journey

boxes of what we wanted to keep

stacked neatly in a basement room

of our once forever home

there is only one

forever

and it is not now

and it is not here

this house will be marketed

sold and left behind

as we return again

to Africa

today, the things

in those "save" boxes

are being sifted, sorted

tossed and donated

tears falling

as more pieces of our old lives

are stripped away

I stand here bare

trembling

as I wait for new skin

But forget all that—

    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

 For I am about to do something new.

    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT

 

foerver changed

He is alive

and the world

is forever changed

 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said

Matthew 28:6a NIV

 

everything must change

day by day

we have watched
 the transformation

of a single rose

moving from glory

to glory

may it be unto us

the very same

as everything must change

 

books in boxes

this is a season of uncertainty

we are convinced, persuaded

with a deep knowing

that we will go to Malawi

but we do not know the timing

it could be next January

or it could be in the middle of August

so we are packing away

things we do not need

the fancy china, serving dishes

collectibles, trinkets

the windows of the almost empty 

china cabinet stare back at me

unsure, even a bit sad

missing contents

but the books, words

eaten, savoured

transforming words

delighting words

words that held up

mirrors, reflecting cracks

then helping to heal

these, then, are like family

dear friends, I hear them

speaking still, as I sort

and stack, placing them in boxes

I can't bring myself to seal

soon, will be time

for the journals, words more

intimate, mine to Him

His to me

including all of those

that set me on this journey

I will remain

a woman of words

and The Word

ever alive in Him

“Yes,” said Jesus, “and you won’t regret it. 

No one who has sacrificed home, spouse, 

brothers and sisters, parents, children—whatever—will lose out. 

It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. 

And then the bonus of eternal life!”

Luke 18:2-30 The Message

 

change

sun streams hot upon my feet

through windows streaked

by the freeze/thaw of winter

melting snow drips 

off roof tops

and though the threat

of more

frozen precipitation

lingers, I am ready

much more than ready

for Spring to dig in

heels, claim her ground

unfolding full with new life

here sit I, hot footed

on the cusp of change 

more profound than season 

to season, a breaking out

turned upside down, full

circle turn, I am ready

much more than ready

for soon to become now

for questions to be silenced

by answers, fears stilled

by the reality of a life

my mind can not yet

imagine

winds blow strong today

in the heat of the sun

calling in

a contagion of refreshing

 

first glance

time once again seems to have donned wings

was it already a week ago

that I caught my first glance

of the river?

here

back in the chill winds

my spirit whispers

change

in ways I don't yet understand

something caught

held, reflected

by water I have not

touched or tasted

but breathed

 

surrendering to change

The first snow has landed 

lightly on our land

all is covered with a dusting of white

I would grab hold of Autumn

wishing it to linger

but why whisper such a futile prayer

change is upon us

there is no profit in fighting

all is simply preparation

for a bigger change ahead

help me be a willing student

and learn my lessons well

He sends his command to the earth;

    his word runs swiftly.

He spreads the snow like wool

    and scatters the frost like ashes

Psalm 147:15-16 NIV

Day 20 of 31 Days of Surrender

 

butterfly effect

a touch

so light

I would have missed

it had I not 

been looking

wings 

so fragile

beating into 

currents strong enough

to alter winds

may my words

so broken

fall soft upon tender

hearts ready to

change the world

hanging out at the pub today, where poets meet

 

in a flash

Listen, I tell you a mystery: 

We will not all sleep, 

but we will all be changed— 

in a flash, 

in the twinkling of an eye, 

at the last trumpet. 

For the trumpet will sound,

 the dead will be raised imperishable, 

and we will be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NIV

 

singing in the Sunday chorus with Deidra

 

First snow...

As night crept in
the first snow fell lightly on this prairie land
In sleep we rested warm
Rick and I in our down covered bed
Faith safe and dry in her basement room
cats and kittens snuggled in straw
the barn a welcome shelter

One by one they appear
to taste, smell and feel
cold white wetness

I turn up the heat
wrapped in fleece
knowing that change is yet again here
rejoicing in the One Who never changes.


 

Late April Friday

Cats wander in and out of the barn, exploring,

pounce on anything that moves, grass, dried leaves in the wind

They find positions best suited for soaking in whatever sun appears

meander down the road, not in any particular hurry

there is always time to do nothing at all

They seem to enjoy slivers of Spring breaking through

and I too rejoice knowing seasons will change

cleaning away excess clutter, seeking order from chaos

clearing away so that new may come.

For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun!

Do you not see it?

Isaiah 43:19a NLT

 

My life is His music

Often, if it were up to me, life would settle into a predictable pattern, but this life is not my own.

Here are the words the Lord shared with me as we sat together in the early morning:

Surely I tell you that another transition is coming, for indeed life remains in motion and I need you fluid, not static.

Do not remain stuck in what you think you know.  Allow Me to move you based on what I know.  Yes, I, the One with thoughts much higher than your thoughts.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9 NLT

As you surrender, change becomes more organic as you live in a continual state of letting go.

I Am the writer, the orchestrator and the conductor, and you, little one, an instrument that will release beautiful music in My hands.

 

In the deep

"One man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

and loved the sorrows of your changing face."

Yeats

 Joining Claire, Kelly and Sarah

Season of seasons

This is/has been a season of seasons
moving too fast
while stuck in place

also a season of seasoning
being softened and hardened
by His hand
stirred and blended wth spices
that leave the scent of His presence

leaves tremble, fall
scatter in the wind
the aroma of decay mixes
with the fragrance of hope
for surely Spring will come
at Winter's end
and sooner
than we now imagine

to everything, a season of its own.

There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth  Ecclesiastes 3:1 The Message

Joining the Carnival at Peter Pollock's place where the word is season.  Come read and add your thoughts...

Change is evident

For the duration of the long winter the view from our windows was static; snow blanketed everything and our lives appeared in black and white.  The months from October to May at times seem endless.  The mind holds on and remembers what the heart sometimes forgets;  Spring does come again.  Colour returns.

Though damp from rain, the grass is turning green.  The falling sun sets the sky ablaze.  It won't be long before the first wild flowers appear, johnny jump-ups pushing their way into the light of a new season.

My heartbeat quickens as I rejoice in all He has created to surround us, as I take in the beauty of each moment.  I open windows to the scent of new and breathe Him.

He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.

 Psalm 104:19 NIV

Uncertain season

Nothing is certain
on the edge
of change
strong winds blow
in swirling frenzy
unable to choose
a fixed direction.

In such chaos
safety seems an illusion
yet there is stillness
in the centre
where the One
to Whom nothing
is uncertain
extends His hand.

I grab hold
breathless
with expectation
surrendered
to His lead.

Fearless.

Visit Emily's to read more words by the broken, imperfect but redeemed

Come to One Stop Poetry to read more Wednesday One Shots