April 24th
Read: Phil. 4:19; Matthew 6:33; 1 Peter 5:7
It took me a long, long time to dare to share my poetry with anyone! It was so very personal. Neither of my parents read poetry, as far as I knew. Certainly my husband did not. So I kept these urgent thoughts which God was pulling out of me in a notebook. Finally, my parents, two aunts, an uncle, and my husband were drawn together by a family funeral in a place far from where any of us lived. Because we were so seldom all together, I decided to reach out with a few small gifts to commemorate the occasion. I dared to put a copy of that first poem into an envelope and present it to my mother as a gift.
Her reaction was a blank stare. She passed it to Daddy, who declined to comment. My Aunt Ruth reached for it and read it with tears streaming down her cheeks! Mother and Daddy looked aghast. Daddy asked her what the trouble was. My dear aunt handed it back to Mother and said, “Love is poured out on that paper. It’s love!”
I don’t think Mother ever really understood my need to write, but once she got accustomed to the idea, she became a staunch supporter, not because she understood but because she loved me. I am blessed to understand that. That first poem is the one below:
RESPONSE
When I search to fill a need,
I ask my Lord to show me how.
He tells me first to sow a seed
Of love somewhere and watch it grow.
When I obey in word and deed
And show someone that ‘God is now’,
The Spirit comes to intercede
And through me living waters flow.
Then my own need seems very small
When someone else’s trials I see.
God’s love and grace hold me in thrall
When I perceive His care for me.
From His strong hand I’ll never fall.
He keeps me there so lovingly.
Though living may demand my all,
My Source provides unendingly.
Prayer: Father, I thank You for the people You have put in my life, especially for their love. Thank You for understanding when they do not.