My hope for you

Poetry speaks to our minds and hearts and is meant to communicate more than the sum of its words. It is an apt expression of our walk with the Lord. I encourage you to forward this link to those you love. I pray this poetry leads you into reflection and prayer but I also want to start a conversation. You, too, have something to share with others-not only in person, but also here. Your experience is yours to give away to build up and learn from others in the Body of Christ. Share the word that you hear, the experiences you have lived. We are all part of the New Evangelization.If you also want to contact me by email, feel free: genefirn@yahoo.com

Table of contents: October 7, 2012

Saturday, June 2, 2012

The Challenge

                                 
illness
is a magnet for
our attention
pulling our pity inward
forcing our focus
away from
Love's calling to
serve the other especially
when crying for relief from
the challenge to                                      
stay afloat in an
unwelcomed storm which
batters our security while
the losing of our perceived control 
begrudgingly recommends humility
through our finite frailty-
the truth of  our
ultimate dependency on the
One who knit us together in the womb-
adjusting for weakness and
pain's 911
feels formidable
while uncertainty
wreaks havoc with
our self-sufficiency
intensifying the temptation to
drink deeply of the
whine squeezed from trials
too long endured as
faith ebbs and flows
questioning the reality of
life's sharp turns and
fearsome dead ends
suffering seemingly ratifies
Satan's lies against
God's existence or
His Love for you
accusations of
His abandonment
lack of concern
powerlessness to help
all prove daunting when
your experience touches
Passion's extreme ordeal with
reluctant reliance and
tumbling feelings
yet your affliction advances the
choice to
trust or worry
love or withdraw
detach or despair
receive or reject
suffering's incessant
provision for purification
an invitation to imitate
Jesus' surrender of Self
and in this
we can prevail by
joining I to Thou's
terrible agony
entwining our crowns
offering our immolations
together as One for the
sake of those we love
entrusting Him to
Redeem our sufferings
for our good and theirs
forming a bond
fused in the
fire of sacrifice
fixing our eyes
on the prize to yield a
fruitful harvest
beyond our own strength
yet within our grasp by
Grace sufficient

Reflection/Discussion:
-How is your illness challenging you?
-How is Colossians 1:24 used in this poem?
-What is the relationship between faith and feelings?
-What does it mean to unite our sufferings with the Lord's sufferings?
-How can our suffering with Jesus be a prayer of blessing for others?
-How is the Lord calling you to love while enduring your illness?
-What is the difference between surrendering to the Lord and giving-up? 

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