poetry

People are Just People

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

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Originally posted January 6, 2015… Hope you enjoy…

Okay, I admit it, I’m a people watcher. I like to find a place to sit, on a busy street, and just watch the people go by. Some hurry, some saunter. Some smile, some frown. Some look you straight in the eye, some look away simply to avoid the encounter. They’re all living their lives in the way they choose, but I wonder what that life is like…

Every time I grow impatient and frustrated, I must remember. When I want to rant and rage, I must recall this simple fact: People are just people. I must work to be more like my Father.

People are just people.

Some are so frantic, it’s hard to know they genuinely see. They are so consumed with the deadline. Some are so depressed, it’s difficult to know they sincerely care. They are so consumed with the foreseen doom. Some are so angry, it’s impossible to know they earnestly love. They are so consumed with their own revenge.

People are just people.

Every time I grow impatient and frustrated, I must remember. When I want to rant and rage, I must recall this simple fact: People are just people. I must work to be more like my Father.

People are just people.

Many are so confused, it’s problematic to engage in conversation. They are so consumed with the implications. Many are so fearful, it is wearisome to strengthen an alliance. They are so consumed with the unspoken and unknown. Many are so grieved, it’s toilsome to deepen a friendship. They are so consumed with the sick and the dead.

People are just people.

Every time I grow impatient and frustrated, I must remember. When I want to rant and rage, I must recall this simple fact: People are just people. I must work to be more like my Father.

I must love Him more; so, I might love them purely. I must seek Him more; so, I might speak to them truthfully. I must know Him more; so, I might see them clearly.

After all, people are just people.

“…We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6b


“Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us,[a] to the glory of God.” Romans 15:7

Dear New York

/ The WheatandTares

In honor of the fallen today, I am reposting this that I shared last October… We will never forget. 🇺🇸🗽

New York, your towers once stood so tall.

The face of pride and success for all.

Terror crept in without even a sound.

Inside your walls, their evil did pound.

My heart is broken, my eyes fill with tears.

Please know our God still lingers near.

I cry for your loss, your distress and your pain.

Now is not the time to worry about your gain.

Turn your eyes and look t’ward Jesus.

He will help heal your wounds. He must.

Look up and see your Savior’s great love.

He comforts as He sends His sweet dove.

His hand is just, sovereign and true.

If you’ll surrender, He can make you anew.

He longs for you to love Him and to serve Him.

Before all your lights are, once again, made dim.

Please don’t linger, turn away or wait.

Please do not put off till it is far too late.

He longs to hold you, to love you, to mend.

But He is a good God, He will now not force you to bend.

There will come a day of not another breath.

Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess.

He is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.

That day will be too late for your heart to sing.

His return is, oh, so very, very soon.

Turn your eyes to Him before the great boom.

He desires to help you, to cleanse you from all vice.

He loves you; He died for you. For you, He paid the great price.

Penned – MG – 9/11/02

Life is so Short

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

  Life is short. It stops for no man. Stop. Inhale. Breathe. Make the Moments Last. Cherish those you love longer. Don’t let those memories be lost simply because you haven’t the time to remember. Don’t brush away the tears simply because you don’t want them to see. Pause and ponder. Look up and wonder. Gaze into the eyes of a child, and remember what matters most.

There is a host of generations quickly coming behind us. What will we leave them? What will we say? Will we win them, or will we toss them away, believing they weren’t worthy of our cause? Those stepping forward will come with or without us. They will keep marching forward. Time does not stop simply because we wish it to. If we refuse to lead them, someone else will, and then, we will weep.

It is our choosing. It is within our grasp; yet, it is just like a lifeline thrown to the drowning. If we don’t take hold, the rescue can be lost, and death will eventually come. We must decide who, when, how, and we must do it quickly. If we turn away, they will keep advancing with their drum beat deafening our ears. We may be able to hold the line, or we may just be trampled under their feet.

Penned – 8/25/15 – MG

Thank You, Dad

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

I wrote this several years back and never shared it, but in light of Father’s Day, I decided to post it today. I hope you enjoy…


Thank you, Dad

For teaching me to listen more than I know how

For training me to love nature, for it’s God’s gift to us now

For directing me in the way that I should go

For correcting me by your firm, but gentle, “No”

Thank you, Dad

For all the long distance phone calls just to hear me chatter

For all those endless weather reports, no matter where you were

For all the deliberate actions to avoid my discouragement

For all the little words of heart-felt encouragement

Thank you, Dad

After all those endless bills have been paid

After all the late night advice has been laid

After all the flowing tears have been cried

After all the growing years have passed by

I’ll still be thanking you. 

I love you, Dad.  ❤

Penned – MG – 10/30/03

America the Beautiful

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

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Her majestic mountains once rose above the clouds; 

They once challenged men to climb her rugged stairs to bow.

Her magnificent waterfalls once dropped deep into the valley;

They once inspired men to race down her rocky waves to rally.

Her awesome wildlife once soared above or scurried below;

They once entranced men to follow her and reap what they’ve sown.

 

These men have come and abused her rugged land.

They have crumbled her majestic mountains to form contraband.

These men have come and drained her waterways.

They have closed her powerful rivers to produce longer days.

These men have come and devastated her wilderness.

They have destroyed her beautiful creatures to make a their money nest.

 

Because of this,  America is in what we abide.

Man has taken over, ruled and abused her countryside.

They have caused her air to pollute, her animals to scatter and her flowers to wilt.

And still, many of them ask, “Why is America what she is today? …Upon what is this country built?”

Only time can show what we have produced, nurtured or half-baked.

Only you and I can change this and make improvements from our mistakes.
There is still hope to redeem this beautiful land. 

There is still opportunity to protect her sacred sands. 

We must awaken the passion. We must arise from our slumber. 

We can change it, but we must first acknowledge out blunder. 


Recognition is the first step to healing. 

Healing is a process; it is never an instant revealing. 

It is possible. We still have hope to survive. 

We must redeem our heritage if we are ever again to thrive. 

Penned – MG – 2/19/90

 
 

 

 

Troubled America

/ The WheatandTares

  

She was once such a lovely place to dwell;

Now, she is a reminder of everlasting hell.

She was once a place of freedom and peace; 

Now, she is a reminder of an angry beast.

 

I cry for this country and what she has come to be.

She will soon be a place that no one will want to see.

I pray that we open our eyes and see our ruined ways.

She will soon be a place of darkened, evil days.

 

Oh please, sweet America! Wake up and see your fate!

Open your eyes and do something now before it is too late!

Oh please, Sovereign Lord! Help us change what we have become.

Open our eyes and reveal the meaning of Your Only Son.

Penned – MG – 1/1/91

 

Growth And Change

/ The WheatandTares

Round and round we go.

So much complexity.

It’s hard to see clearly.

We fuss. We scrap.  We scream.

Nothing is ever as it seems.

Yesterday is gone.

Never again can you grasp it.

Tomorrow is already here.

I can’t ever seem to find it.

Your memories try to grab it.

We live such different lives.

You go your way and I’ll go mine.

I live by my choices.

You live by your circumstance.

How can we ever find a way to dance.

You fell for love and all lost out.

You missed the times You were needed about.

You went away. Destroyed what could have been.

Never ever to be seen again.

You changed, transformed before my very eyes.

You stopped living for joy and lived for the lies.

You long for things to be the same.

I have moved on, grown and changed.

You are now desperate to be like others.

But now my life is consumed with another.

You will only find what was lost when you look to my Brother.
Penned – MG – 4/25/15

Can’t You See

/ The WheatandTares

Every day you bite and claw and push against the hands extended to you

You constantly fight and punch and kick against the love we try to give

When rescue is near you run away

Blaming someone else for your mistake

Will you not turn before it is too late?

Can’t you see the love set before you?

Can’t you see His heart will take away the pain?

Can’t you hear Him calling your name?

You fight back like a caged animal

Shaking, shuttering, scratching, snatching

You constantly battle, waging war against those who would help

Never realizing you are simply fighting against yourself

Can’t you see the grace set before you?

Can’t you see His heart will take away the pain?

Can’t you hear Him calling your name?

There will come a day when it will be finished  

Then there will be no more chances 

The judgment will be done

But until then…

He will not give up on you 

He will not turn away 

He will continue to call day after day

Will you ever turn to His way?


Penned – MG – 4/25/15

Wrapped Inside

/ The WheatandTares

I see you wrapped inside those heavy chains

You think you have nothing more to gain

The smell of death is yet growing stronger

You hold out just a few moments longer

 

I try to reach to you, but you push me away

I try to stop you, but you keep me at bay

Why are you leaving, there’s no one to know

Why are you running, there’s nowhere to go 


The chains, they bite and claw at your skin

The weight of them breaks you, never allowing  to bend

The nights are closing in, the screams can now be heard

The bondage you long for makes this all absurd


Can’t you see Him, His light shines so bright 

He longs not to harm you, but to make this world now right 

Can’t you hear Him calling out your name

If you will but love Him, you will never be the same 


Penned – MG – 4/22/15


Hidden Within

/ The WheatandTares

Tears fall in the night

Smiles shine in the morning bright

Weary souls hide in the light

Broken hearts stand with all their might


Shadows linger where they don’t belong

Children flinch from being done wrong

Little hands clinch to remain strong 

Tiny whispers dark are like a song

When will this pain ever end
Can His love really bring a mend
Will to Him your heart bend
His Son, grace deep, He did send
For only you, he loved so much
For this sin, He suffered such
To some, this faith seems a crutch
To me, this love my life will clutch
PENNED – MG – 4/14/15