On the Side of the Road #kindness #sundaydevotions

“It’s as easy as…”

LIFE

“you fall off –

 get right back on”

bruised and bloodied

stumbling off the road

 scraping out the rocks

“Just get up” a person calls

I think I’ll just sit in the dirt

another person rolls her eyes

increasing her pace

“take the bike I won’t be needing it” I holler

I feel gentle arms around me

“let me clean that” a kind whisper

“we will get you home”

the man puts me on his bike

his wife rides my battered one

I’m awakened to fluffy white pillows

I don’t know how long it takes to heal

 there it was painted and straight

“I think I’m ready to try “

I wave at the kind couple

their hands are full so they smile

there will always be battered people

to pick up on the side of the road

 

The original story of the Good Samaritan dealt with religious/ cultural bias and religiosity. The Good Samaritan(entire parable Luke 10:25-37) did not deal with the social issues  surrounding that man’s life. His concern was for the well being of the nameless man. How easy is it for us to have  all the answers to another person’s struggles? It’s easy to judge when we are upright. What about when we are on the ground battered/ in pain? Jesus extends grace and love to everyone no matter what pit they find themselves in.

I am grateful to people like the non-fictional couple who picked me up in a time of distress and loved me back to health. Why not have a heart that picks people up out of life’s ditches?

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

                                                                                                               Psalm 51:1

“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said,

“He who showed mercy on him.”

                   Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”               

                                                                                                            Luke 10:36&37 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God

of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble

with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

                                                                                                      2 Corinthians 1:3-4

 

Mirror Image #art #sundaydevotion #poetry

Percieved image

momentary

seems so real

blurred

can’t see clearly

thought can delude

images

take new form

mirror taken away

I see truth

sunlight bright

freed to be

Me

The search to “find oneself” is an ongoing quest. Looking in the mirror doesn’t always help.

Maybe because it’s a distorted image of who we really are.

Don’t cease the search, but remember the Master knows  (and sees) the real you.

The unveiling will occur one day and we will behold not only self but Truth with no obstructions.

 

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32

“Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

I Choose Life #sundaydevotion #poetry

a fork in the road

threw indecision my way

left or right

a price to pay

one path almost spoke

come here and walk

you’ll never regret

the pleasures Ive wrought

the other was narrow

with pebbles and leaves

golden light flickered

warming the trees

I reached out my gaze

took my first step

years that was now

many pilgrims Ive met

heaven’s gate is beyond

to a world free of strife

I owe it all to that path

it gave me new life

The “gate” in the Bible is mentioned like the fork in the road. There is a broad gate to destruction people are distracted by  stuff, pleasure, and gain but the end result is eternal pain.  There are trials, stumbling, disappointment when you walk through narrow gate but at the end is rejoicing where Jesus awaits.

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’

But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

Luke 13:24 & 25

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 17: 13 & 14

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6

Sharing this with Godinterest.

Faith #atozchallenge #haiku

faith to move mountains

great minds cannot see God’s hand

child touches belief

What does faith mean to you?

 

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

~Hebrews 11:1

 

A to Z folks I am visiting:

Don Massenzio’s Blog – Indie Authors Unite (BO)       The Keeper’s Path

Scribbling In The Storage Room                                   No Word For Sand

The Write Game                                                             Indie Lifer

Pempi’s Palace (E/S)                                                       RamblinWithAM

Amazing Animals                                                          THE KATY

Finding Eliza (HM)

feelgoodwithmeblog                                                    Author Sharon Hamilton

Amy Morris-Jones (WR)                                              From This Side of the Pond

Jen Seriously. Seriously, Jen? (PR)                             Tami @ Thrift Shop Commando

My Imagination World (PR)                                        Eloquent Articulation by Inderpreet ( PR )

Write On Sisters – Master Plots from A to Z (WR)     JO ON FOOD, LIFE AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE (CU)

Dr Gulara Vincent (PR)                                                 Spooky Mrs Green

Steven Chapman (Writer) (WR)                                   durbadhyani

Tracking Down The Family                                         Michelle Wallace @ Writer~In~Transit

Kreative Doting

 

Sea Breeze #haiku #devotion

Breathe fresh air

sun rises on warm spring day

refreshed in hope

What a Child Sees #poetry #devotion

I looked in a child’s eyes today

what I saw took my breath away

fantasy worlds the size of a dime

held in a hand that measured time

a smile that spread the horizon and more

sweet filled goodness a spirit that soared

I looked in the heart of a child today

nothing too precious at his feet to lay

Yesterday we had a yard sale and one of the family’s that came by had a boy 6 and a girl 8. The little boy had big round glasses that made his eyes looked like globes full of wonder. The Lord saw children as precious with an ability to see Heaven. I’ve often why we need to see Heaven and God as children maybe it is because children are guileless. They would see Heaven for its beauty rather than for what “they can get” from God. I never want to stop marveling at  a golden sunsets, giggle when I see squirrels chase each other up and down oak trees, or tease the waves with my toes.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked,”Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And He said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:2 & 3

“Therefor, whoever takes the lowliest position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:4

“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Luke 18:17

A Simple Kindness #devotion #poetry

No words were needed

car after car rolled by

faces with a smile

a bus driver with thumbs up

several men who stopped

“at your service”

Smoke poured from my hood

it little mattered

I was reminded more times than I could count

that people you will never meet

can be kind, concerned

and I hope that I will never forget

that it requires but a moment

a few words

a smile and a wave

and those gestures

can make all the difference in the world

 

I spent the evening on the side of the road with a broken down car. I can’t tell you how many people stopped, more offered help as they sat waiting for the light to change. There are so many images of anger and destruction in our news that we forget that people can be considerate and actually take time for a stranger. I was reminded of the verse “Love your neighbor as yourself…” When we look out for the people in our sphere of influence we can actually effect their day positively. I couldnt be upset about my car because I felt people driving by had taken the “sting” out of the situation.

 

 

Proverbs 11:17

A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.

Proverbs 19:17

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

Colossians 3:14

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

The Beauty in Difference #devotion #poetry

I was wild  a little daring

boldly wearing magenta in a sea of green

standing tall at the close of spring

the thing was no one knew my name

they knew the pansies, marigolds, lobelia

I heard one flower proclaim

“she’s a beauty for a weed

she should be removed

who knows if she will infect you”

I wasn’t refined, knew little what to do

hard to define, but I like who I am

I heard the master gardener say:

“don’t stop being who you are

a time will come I will cut  away

do not dismay you will endure

long years you will smile and sway”

It’s difficult standing among a crowd and being different. Perhaps while everyone wears blue and yellow, you like orange and pink. Your shoes are tall while everyone else wears flats. Were we made to be all the same? Apparently not. Some people are petite others are large. There could be one hundred people with dark hair and that hair would be long,  straight, short, kinky, medium, bouncy, shiny, red tint, or dull with some grey. God made us this way. We are different not so that we can point out that we are the best flower in the garden but so that we can give food or shade to a certain creature, offer a rare fragrance in mid-day, cheer up someone who is downtrodden, or shine our faces in a smile to the sun. We each carry a gift that like a bouquet is an offering of beauty to our maker and to our world.

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

John 15:2

 “ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  ~Psalm 139:14

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

Shared today with Poetry Pantry at Poet’s United and Godinterest

Pursuit of Wisdom #devotion #poetry

Wisdom is like a living organism

it grows in rich spiritual soil.

roots strong and going deep

it speaks to the loyal

Pride and avarice kills it

humility and love cause it to thrive

But it is not for the fainthearted

as it clarifies one’s eyes

you see fools life’s marauders

cause pain to the meek

the poor are down and trodden

ground to dust so to speak

you can’t find it in a college

it’s not something you can buy

pursue high search low

it is precious this Heaven’s prize

Wisdom is compared to insight and light. It’s aim is to instruct and lighten the load of the “simple”. Folly or foolishness is “loud, knows nothing” and attempts to mislead others. (leading ultimately to destruction.)

In days like these, it is imperative that we pray for wisdom; it can clarify the noise of the world and give sense to what makes so little…

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” Proverbs 9:10

“Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?² At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud:
⁴ “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.^[a] Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right;
    they are upright to those who have found knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver,knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹ for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”

Proverbs 8:1-11

What I Learned from a Child #devotion #poetry

 ^“And he said:“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

~Matthew 18: 3 & 4

Today I walked where a child journeyed

I was whisked up into the breeze

colorful wings sprouted

I flew in fantasy

Today I rode a wooden horse

but you would never know

the journeys that we travelled

as knights from long ago

Today I laughed with a child

light and color flashed in the skies

we dug a tunnel to a new world

where giants had blue eyes

Tomorrow I’ll wing up toward heaven

look down at you with a smile

never letting go of the memories

love I learned from the heart of a child

Jesus loved children and told us we needed to be like children to enter the kingdom – why?

Children have an uncanny ability to care about things. One little girl I knew brought home every animal (and bug) that was hurt or broken; she could’nt bear the suffering of creatures.

Children are innocent – they have not tasted of the world’s evil.

Children see everyday things with special even profound meaning: an old tree becomes a castle, a creek becomes an ocean that transports fairies.

Children have an ability to love – really love. Their love isn’t based on what the person’s net worth is or the way they are dressed; they see into the heart.

Proverbs 17:22 – A merry heart doeth good [like] a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Psalms 126:2 – Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.

Proverbs 15:13 – A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

Psalms 32:11 – Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all [ye that are] upright in heart.

Proverbs 17:17  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

1 Peter 1:22  Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Those big eyeballs remind me to look really hard for a way to love others – no matter who they are and to look at life the way that children do.

Sharing with Poet’s United Poet’s Pantry and Godinterest.