Happy Thanksgiving

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone.

Be blessed!

Quotes

Essential is truth; nonessential is liberty—in all things charity.

During this dark night of the soul, we may have a sense of dryness, aloneness, even lostness. Any overdependence on the emotional life is stripped away. The notion, often heard today, that such experiences should be avoided and that we always should live in peace and comfort, joy and celebration only betrays the fact that much contemporary experience is surface slush. The dark night is one of the ways God brings us into a hush, a stillness so that He may work an inner transformation upon the soul.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1)

Trapped

Darkness, fear…
A cramped
Place.
Trapped, always
Walking but
Never moving.
Hands grasp,
Tear.
Pinning, hurting.
Darkness, trapped—
Fear.
How to get out?
Can you get out?
Struggles, tears,
Shame.
Hands, bodies
Pinned.
Fear, pain, struggles.
Trapped with
No way
Out.

Hidden Hell

Pain, hurt, sadness…
A wall getting torn
Down.
Stone by stone,
Hands rip away.
Light pouring in
Through the cracks
To reveal a scared
Little girl
Who just wants
To heal
And feel safe.
Light piercing
Darkness…
No where to hide
Anymore.

Through Hell

Dawn always comes,
Or so I’ve heard.
I’ve doubted it…
For when you’re in
The midst of
Darkness,
It’s hard to see
Dawn approaching.

It’s the hard thing,
About traveling through
Hell,
You lose track of
Where you’ve been
And where
The End begins.

You don’t quite see
Until you’ve woken
In the woods
Yet again,
And healing
Begins.

Pain doesn’t leave,
And the scars
Will never be gone.
Yet scars will
Fade,
And scars are better
Than open wounds.
Scars are a testimony
Of Healing and
Life.

Scars add to you,
Though…

Hidden—
They cause you to look
No older than a
Child.
Revealed—
To look as
If you’ve lived
Through more than
Anyone could in
A lifetime.

Traveling through hell
Will not let you
Leave unscarred.
And going through
Purgatory
Will not let you
Leave unchanged.
Healing does that…

Musings

I've been meditating on the book of Habakkuk. It's a really intriguing book, and I'll post more when I get the chance. For now, I'll just post a favourite part of it (3:17-19).

17Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

It's good because it talks about trusting God no matter what, even if life seems unfair...or horrid, etc.

Life's been interesting lately. Work's a lot of fun, also interesting. It's a fun working environment and I've been learning a lot, including Spanish. I'm very joyful at the moment...which is awesome after everything.

New Poem

Here's a new one I wrote. Dedicated to Aaron.

The Harrowing of Beauty

I found you,
Curled up
And hurt.

My arms gently gather
You up,
Shielding you from
The world.

I examine the wounds
And pain,
Healing what I
Can.

My eyes darken
In fury
As I see more
And more wounds.

How could they do
This
To you?
So precious, so
Beautiful…
Yet they did this
To you…

I slowly begin to
Help you heal,
And slowly the wounds
Fade to scars.

Your eyes…
They did that to
Your eyes.
So very old
And guarded…
Not as they
Ought to be…

Beauty…they attacked
Beauty.
Beauty which ought
To be touched
Gently and
Carefully,
With permission.
Not grabbed,
Not taken
Forcefully,
But gently, carefully…
Caressing.

I wish I had been
There,
To stop them…

Your smile
And touch
Tell me not to
Worry,
And that I’m
Helping now.

Still…I wish
I could have
Stopped yet
Another
Attack on
Beauty…

New Poem

Dreams as Reality

Sleep but no rest,
Dreams but not peaceful.

I heard once that the worst
Thing that could happen
Is dreams becoming
Reality.

I didn’t believe it
At first,
But then my dreams
Began to become
More than just
Dreams.

I understand, now,
Why someone would
Say that.
Wishing for your dreams
To come true
Is all well and
Good,
Yet you can’t
Wish what dreams
Come true.

What do you do when
Dreams you wish
To stay just dreams
Don’t…
And the dreams you
Wish would come
True
Stay just dreams?

Life is a curious thing
And dreams curiouser.
What happens when the
Dreamworld resembles
Truth
More than actual
Reality?

If you ever find out
A good reason
For that fact,
Will you let me
Know?
I’d appreciate it…

For now, I’ll continue
Living
Where dreams are
Real
And Reality
Is dreamlike.

Beautiful Verse

I was recently looking through old entries in my journal, and found this verse written out. The date was back in March or April, during a hard time when I was having to rely on God. It spoke to my heart again, as I re-read it.

Hope it does the same for you.

Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
for behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.

~Song of Solomon 2~