poetry

Joy in the Sorrow

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

We only experience true joy when we’ve experienced deep pain. 

We only experience true strength when we’ve experienced great weakness. 

We appreciate the sunshine when we’ve been surrounded by rain. 

We are truly grateful for home when we’ve been away for a long time. 

We all know the feeling when the day has been unending, and we’re so thankful for our own bed. We are more appreciative, because we’ve recognized the loss of it.  

A parent values their child most when that child has been lost to him for a time. 

A wife truly cherishes her covenant when she sees him marry the other woman. 

A husband really esteems his wife after she has escaped death.  

A child treasures a friend when he thought all was forgotten. 

We get comfortable in routine. 

We grow complacent in the mundane.

We grow ungrateful in the familiar. 

Sometimes, hard times come to shake us from the average. 

Sometimes, trials come to move us beyond the commonplace. 

Often times, the trouble will pull us out of the habitual and into a brighter tomorrow. 

So, when the storms of life come,

Don’t fight. 

Don’t resist. 

Just walk out in the rain.

Just learn to grow. 

Learn to love. 

Learn the value. 

Just turn your face to the waterfall. 

Just let it wash over you. 

 Just dance. 


PENNED – MG – 4/13/15

Jennifer*

/ The WheatandTares

She had a way about her that made everyone feel loved.

She wasn’t an ordinary little girl. No, she was just a cut above.

Her laughter could warm the coldest of any hearts;

From her welcoming eyes, you’d never want to depart.

Now to the Promise Land, she’s gone far away,

Never to return or come again to play.

We all will miss her sweet little smile;

But if we’ll hold on, we’ll see her in just a little while.

She has been made complete by the Great Physician.

Her mind and her body, both now, in great remission.

She’s probably dancing on those streets of gold,

And most likely, hearing all His stories yet untold.

If you could see her at this very moment,

She might just be praying for your life’s atonement.

If you could hear her message as she calls out your name,

She might just be telling you to not remain the same.

“The Master is coming for you; I know it won’t be long.

Please, don’t wait forever, or you may sing a sad, sad song.

What a terrible disaster to live your whole life through,

And in the end, not give to Him your love which is so past due.”

Penned – MG – 9/20/03 

*Wrote in tribute to a precious little girl I knew who lost her battle with cancer when she was only six years old…

Draw Nigh To Him

/ The WheatandTares

Life is so very, very seared;

Be sure not to let it pass you on by.

Jesus promised that He would always be near,

But first, unto Him, you must draw nigh.

His love for you is very, very deep;

Sometimes, it can almost seem intoxicating.

Yet, He is such a gentleman, merciful and meek;

His love is never made to be suffocating.

This world is so very, very impure;

It will always turn your ’round and ’round.

He longs to give you a hope and a future;

He wants to free you from these chains you are bound.

His time is so very, very uncertain;

We cannot know the hour or the day.

Turn to Him before they draw a curtain;

Surrender your heart or be eternally swayed.

Penned – MG – 10/31/03

The Depth of Your Love

/ The WheatandTares

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The trees sway to sing of Your praise.

The birds fly amidst Your grace.

The clouds swirl and form under Your glory.

Even the smallest weed stretches up to honor Your name.

Your love forever amazes my inmost being.

Your admiration for this land and its creatures.

You created us for Your worship and exaltation,

And yet, our selfishness wars against Your very nature.

The depth of Your grace, my soul cannot fathom. 

The expanse of Your forgiveness, my heart can’t comprehend.

The height of Your patience, my mind cannot see.

Even this inward flesh, I seem unable to bend.

Oh God, consume this humanness of which I live.

Burn a fire inside by Your holiness and by Your grace.

Melt away all the pride, the hatred and the insolence.

Even then, can I possibly hope to look upon Your face?

Penned – MG – 4/25/01

This Moment

/ The WheatandTares

We live our lives, rushing through this day

We are so hurried, we miss the moments along the way

Pushing, thrusting, only to reach that tomorrow

Always hoping to be joyful and bypass any sorrows

We breeze through the seasons and bustle through the years

We are so frazzled, we forget those things that once, we held dear

Searching and seeking, only to acknowledge something new

Forever desiring to be happy and overlook the blues

But God said, “There is wisdom in the house of mourning”

It is not this earthly home for which we are adorning

We must pause and reflect before it all disappears

His return to take us there is soon drawing near

He’s told us in His Word, even the Son doesn’t know the time

Take advantage of this moment and never live in the sublime

We must be focused on that day, while living in this second

Open your ears and your heart, I know you’ll hear him beckon

Stop wishing for something different or for that time to stay

Make the most of this minute before it is eternally at bay

Pausing and delaying to smell the roses upon the path

If you miss this tiny moment, you may be left in the aftermath

He wants His best for you, which we cannot, in our own eyes, see

He can observe the present, the past, and what is meant to be

He’s bigger and He’s better than what we could’ve hoped for

We just have to acknowledge Him, or He cannot open the door

Penned – MG – 10/26/03

The Chains

/ The WheatandTares

I pass you on the street and gasp at what I see

I ask if I can help, but you tell me to let you be

My heart is grieved by what you have become

You hiss at the wisdom, saying you just wanna have some fun

In your own thoughts, you think we’ve all lost our way

You say that you hear; yet, you are deaf to all we say

Focused only on your own, you ignore His beckoning call

Pride goes out before you, guaranteed to let you fall

My prayer is for your return and not for your demise

I pray this path of destruction, you quickly will despise

You continue to walk on by, stating everything is fine

Oblivious to the fact, their mission is you to bind

You keep laughing and attempting to be bold

You cannot see that they are tightening their hold

You keep trying to dance and ignoring the pain

Yet, you open your eyes to finally see all the chains

The reflection

/ The WheatandTares

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What is in a reflection?

A face

A memory

A smile

A tear

All the changes through the years.

The light is changing.

The light is bright.

Let your life shine tonight.

Expectancy

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Expectations.

We all have them.

We all set them.

Sometimes, they’re set too high,

And we grow frustrated and angry, sorrowful and discouraged.

Sometimes, they’re set too low,

And we act shocked, amazed, elated and even indignant.

Expectations.

We all receive them.

We all survive through them.

Sometimes, they make us feel warm, welcomed and embraced.

Sometimes, they leave us weary, battered and confused.

Expectations.

Maybe, if we could learn the difference between grace and judgment,

They would be easier to give.

Maybe, if we realized the perfect balance is found in love and absolute truth,

They could be easier to live.

Penned – MG – 11/24/14

I Cannot See Your Face

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

When I awake in the night, I feel Your presence near.

When I am all alone, I sense You are by my side.

I cannot see your face, for Your glory is too much to bear;

Yet, I know the Truth, for in You, I long to abide.

 

When my heart is consumed with grief, I feel Your arms surround.

When my soul cannot answer, I sense Your presence within.

I cannot see Your face, for Your glory is too much to bear;

Yet, I am convinced, for by Your grace, I will contend.

 

When I walk where none has traced, I feel Your Spirit guide.

When I am confronted by evil, I sense Your strength to stand.

I cannot see Your face, for Your glory is too much to bear;

Yet, I do believe, for only through You, the demons I command.

 

When my mind is declaring defeat, I feel Your hand overcome.

When my strength threatens to falter, I sense Your power swell.

I cannot see Your face, for Your glory is too much to bear;

Yet, I can trust, for with You, the lost You will compel.

 

Penned – MG – 4/25/01

Help Me To See

/ The WheatandTares

I look in the mirror and see my own face.

I tend to neglect the needy to embrace.

I listen intently to hear my own voice.

I seem to ignore the hurting that need to rejoice.

 

I go my own way, busy in my own life,

Forgetting You’ve called me to be a good wife.

I run from here to there, scurrying to get the job done,

Neglecting You’ve told me to raise my young son.

 

I read in Your Word to always put Jesus first,

Believing that I do until I realize my own thirst.

I hear from Your servants, “Never make idols to love,”

Believing that I don’t until I recognize what they’ve become.

 

Change me and my perspective. Make me what You desire.

Draw me out and cleanse me from this filthy mire.

Transform this mind into the intellect You have planned.

Make this heart as malleable as the shifting sand.

 

I need Your touch; I need Your grace.

I long to feel your sweet embrace.

I long to walk beside You, hand in hand.

I thirst for Your righteousness and Your promise land.

 

Be my strength and my ever-present Light.

Be my focus and be my heart’s delight.

Be my reason to face each new day.

Be my guide and show me every step of Your way.

 

Help me to see those around me in need.

Open my ears to hear those who want to be freed,

Cause my hands to reach out to those in sin.

Give me the boldness to tell them how to change from what they’ve been.

 

Penned – MG – 6/29/02