A New Poem

Into Your Presence

In the cool of the day,

I run into Your presence

In the garden of Your Word.

Hungry for Your touch, Your face

Your will, Your warm embrace.

There I quiet my spirit

And listen for Your voice

Echoing through those ancient books

Scribed by human hands.

Both eternal and created,

Word of God born in thoughts of men.

More than a window into the heavens

Or a relic of the past,

The Spirit hums across the pages,

Grace and Truth for all the ages.

Love beyond imagination 

Wed to human communication.

Mysteries hidden from the angels

Written in the lyrics of mere mortals.

In the whole and in each part

Intoning Your very heart

Every syllable a revelation

Alpha and Omega within creation.

JDJ

10/31/2011

Agony and Ecstasy

Life is rich, full, and uncertain.  When this year began I wrote about being committed to a year of writing; I have written almost nothing.  I was diagnosed with cancer on February 25 followed by surgery on February 28.  My third grandchild (Tegan Smith) was born on March 3 and I drove to Wheaton, Illinois on April 4 to meet her (one week after surgery).  A tornado ripped through our place on Wednesday, April 27.  Our beautiful trees were leveled, but we had little damage to the house.  The barn roof had to be replaced. (I bought a new chain saw but still have dozens of trees that need removal.)  Later in the spring we had torrential rains and our basement flooded.  We also had 24 hours of record rainfall in early September and it flooded again.  (Our plans are to have French drains installed soon.)  In late July two of our professors accepted positions at another school and I was asked to pick up a couple of their classes.  I am enjoying teaching Historical Theology with Sang-Ehil Han as it was my focus area in my doctoral program, but it is a new preparation. In short, my dreams for this year have been supplanted by the agony of the unexpected and the ecstasy of survival.

And, I forgot to mention the water line in our front yard ruptured and I replaced it last month.