Time
It flies
If we don’t pause
We’ll never find
The treasures hidden
In these hard and beautiful days
Joy and pain
Sun and rain
So often united
Time
Don’t take it for granted
It comes
But it goes away
When we look back what will we see?
Did we stop
To live, to change, to believe
Or did we run
Without a dream?
So live today
As the gift it is
From the God who created us to be
His hands and feet
Time
It changes
This world in need
As we give Him everything
Summer leaving
Grass is fading
Restless air
Leaves changing
Falling
Returning to the soil
Something stirring
In our souls
Daydreaming
Sipping cider
Another year slipping by
Preparing for the winter
With hearts warmed by thankfulness
Celebrating fall together
In 10 years it’ll make sense
What I should’ve seen
Should’ve done
Should’ve known
That You were working
Through everything
For Your glory
In 10 years Your love will be sweeter
Your grace even deeper
As it’s carried me
Sanctified me
Changed me
In 10 years I’ll have more “thank Yous”
More reasons to trust You
More tears, more laughs
More hard lessons learned
More blessed-assurance
I’ll be closer to eternity
Closer to You
But if 10 years doesn’t come
And all I have is today
Did I live it right?
Am I ready
To step over the Jordan
To the New Jerusalem?
Am I ready to die
Am I ready to live
Today
Shelter her heart in Your hands
Though in a dark world she stands
May she hear Your voice and know You’re near
Drawing her closer year by year
May this little girl grow
To be a woman of faith
Who trusts her heart
To Your embrace
And never fears
The darkness around
For in Your Word
Her hope is found
Words typed
Over 50 years ago
On faded papers
Worn by time
Carry me back to
Before I was alive
Show me the heritage
That came before me
The legacy of faith & devotion
The prayers my great-grandma prayed
The testimony that she gave
My heart is touched
By the way she crafts each sentence
Did she ever know
That her great-granddaughter
Would hear these words?
Did she ever dream
That they would touch my heart so?
This family treasure
Stowed away for years
Comes to life again
In my heart
Reminding me that the past
Is a part of the present
And the future is yet to be written
A little girl
Grew up one day
And through the years
Forgot to pray
It seemed so simple
How much did it change?
When God already
Had it all arranged?
Her heart drifted down
Wide paths that were new
And how quickly the past
Slipped from her view
She began to wonder
Is His love still true?
Was there hope for her
Though hope was not due?
She longed for her
Innocent
Childlike
Faith
When she knew God
And she knew
She was safe
She closed her eyes
Could she still pray?
Would He listen to her
After she’d run away?
So many sins
Her heart did bear
And yet she knew
That God still cared
Surely He was still out there
She whispered
Her prayer
Into the breeze
And hoped
It would drift
Higher than the trees
She closed her eyes
And gently breathed
The fresh air of early spring
She heard a bird
Begin to sing
And the laughter of children
In the distance ring
The years began to come undone
Every sin she’d committed
Overcome
By the precious blood
Of Her Savior’s love
Born again
From above
She felt what she hadn’t
Felt in years
God’s presence once again drew near
And washed away
Her guilt and fear
The future looked so bright and clear
Much the like the childhood
She held so dear
Yet life could not be the same
The lessons she learned
Had shaped her faith
She knew
The depth
The height
And length
The love of God
None can equate
She found His endless
Gift of grace
A little girl
Came home to stay
And here her story
Will grow each day
As she bows her head
And humbly prays
Dear God
I’m Your
Little girl
Always
She opens her eyes
Enough to see
And grasps my hand
And looks at me
I tell her
“I love you”
What else can I say?
100 years
Leads to today
So few to hug her
And feel her pain
She’s fought to live
So strong she’s stayed
The stories she’s told me
Of memories made
She squeezes my hand
In her stubborn way
Yet the light
Is gone
From her face
Soon she’ll see
That heavenly gate
And be welcomed by
God’s loving embrace
For now
I can only
Hold her hand and pray
100 years
Leads to today
There’s beauty
In the morning
Cherry Tree Poet 