[Somewhere I have never travelled]

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience; your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

---E E Cummings

I was just thinking of poetry today and how much I love some of it. This is one of my most favorite poems by an amazing poet. Even though this is a romantic poem, and a very good one at that, I was thinking about how it relates to the way God is with me. He is the Great and Almighty God, but at the same time, has hands that are small enough to reach into the depths of me and open me. And although maybe someday I will be able to say such things of a man or him to me, I know that no one can move me to open and close with such fragility as does the Bright Morning Star, Jesus Christ, my Savior and my God! Have a wonderful rest of the day...(& you should check out some poetry today)

Here is my heart

So today is the day after Valentine's Day and I didn't get the chance to post a great song I listened to all day yesterday. It's a love song to Jesus written by Sarah Scharbrough. It's just telling Him how great and amazing His love is. It really touches the deepest parts of my heart. I just wanted to remind everyone, Valentine or not, that there is no love that can compare to the love of Jesus Christ. No other feeling will ever satisfy, if at all, like the love that is given by the Lover of your soul. So here is my heart for my Lord through this song, "Your Love."

Your love is like the rain as it falls over me
Your love is like the sun, it meets me every morning
Your love is like a fire, it burns in my soul
Oh, Your love abounds
Your love is like the sky, it hangs over my head
Your love is like the ocean, it reaches every depth
Your love is like the wind, it covers all of the earth
Oh, Your love abounds, abounds
And Oh, it covers me
Oh, it shelters me
And it reaches all the way, it reaches all the way to me
Your love is like a forest, standing tall and free
Your love is like a mountain that every eye can see
Your love is like a rushing stream, it covers me
Oh, Your love abounds
And oh, it covers me
Oh, it shelters me
And it reaches all the way, it reaches all the way to me
And oh, it covers me
Oh, it shelters me
All the way, it reaches all the way to me, even me
All the way to me
Your love abounds...

His love, oh how it does abound! Have a great night!

Intimacy in Brokenness

I wish I could understand. Just get behind it all and know our incestant foolishness. Yahweh fashioned us from the humble earth. He formed every inch of us, giving the most diligent care and detail down to the very last corner of our hearts. He doesn't just figure us out, He knows us. He is completely aware of our desires, our fears, our likes, our passions, our longings, our failures, our weaknesses, our heartaches...He just knows. So, why then, do we feel a need to be something we are not before Him? We aren't perfect, so don't pretend. We aren't without sin, so don't pretend. We have to stop trying to clean our act up, even as Christians, before we go to the One who loves us more than life. We should stop pretending the sin isn't there, stop pretending you're complete, stop pretending to not be broken. Why are we so hesistant to be broken before the only One who can fix us, make us whole? I know at times I've felt failure in my brokenness before God. Would my Maker reject me in my brokenness? Of course He wouldn't. He will scoop up His creation and make it whole once more. God never despises His children. In Psalm 51:17 David wrote, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise." If we can't be broken before God, especially over our sin, who can we be broken before? God waits, all day. He is a patient Father, awaiting our call upon His Name. In Psalm 34:18, David again writes, "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit." Closeness, nearness, intimacy...all gained through going to the Lord when your heart and spirit are broken. Yes, even broken to the point when you feel as though the pieces are so small that they could pass through the eye of a needle. Come before the Lord, lay your heart bare, tell Him you're hurting, you're hardened and need brokenness, be prepared for Him to draw near to you if you ask. Dependency on the Lord cannot be shameful for in your weaknesses, He is strong!