Let them see you

Lord, please, I beg you
that when other people look at me
they see you,
not the bitterness,
ugliness,
sinfulness
of me
that only you
can forgive.
Please let them see your light,
not dimmed,
your love,
your sacrifice
that whoever believes in you
should live.

JOHN 3:16

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON,

THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM,

SHALL NOT PERISH,

BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

Pessin e

NOT SO GOOD NEWS, YET AGAIN.
WILL THIS PAIN NEVER ENDaedWILL MY SO BROKEN HEART EVER MEND?
AM I STRONG ENOUGH 
TO GET THROUGH THIS VALLEY
AND UP THAT HILL?
NO, I KNOW I'M NOT,
SO I RELY ON YOUR STRENGTH.
YOU PROMISED.
AND YOU ALWAYS KEEP YOUR PROMISES.
MAKE THIS PART OF MY STORY
IF ONLY FOR YOUR GLORY.

2 CORINTHIANS 13:9

WE ARE GLAD WHENEVER WE ARE WEAK

BUT YOU ARE STRONG

Hurting

I'm so tired, Lord,
of digging into the past.
I wish I could just let it rest.
But I guess when you're as sensitive as me,
as has been crushed into me so constantly,
without relief,
you can't.
All of the yelling
I hear as if it were yesterday.
Closing the door didn't help.
And the slaps still sting,
and I still see the blood
flowing freely.
I don't think I will ever get that smell
out of my mouth.
But you said you'd never ask me
to go through something you haven't felt yourself.
And I cling to that,
as I do to the cross.
My heart still aches,
I miss my daughter,
I miss my health,
I miss the family I never had.
And this constant reliving
hurts.
But if what I've been through
can help just one other person,
then it will all be 
worth it.

PSALM 34:18

THE LORD IS CLOSE TO THE BROKENHEARTED

AND SAVES THOSE WHO ARE CRUSHED IN SPIRIT.

YOU ARE LOVED (UPDATED)

I know you are weary,

I know you are lonely,

and I know you want to go home.

But you get your strength

from me,

so I'm asking you to keep running

for just a little bit more.

You have more seeds to sow,

more testimony to share,

more love to give,

more places to go,

more storms to go through

so that you can grow.

Your particularly individual race

is not yet over.

I made you special.

I know who you are.

You are loved.

PROVERBS 10:25

WHEN THE STORM HAS SWEPT BY, THE WICKED ARE GONE, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS STAND FIRM FOREVER.

I AM NOT ASHAMED

THERE I WAS,
THIS SWEET LITTLE GIRL 
NICKNAMED SUNSHINE,
DIMPLES IN HER CHEEKS,
AND A SPARKLE IN HER GREEN EYES.
I JUST WANTED TO BE LOVED,
AND MAYBE TO BE HUGGED ONCE IN A WHILE.
WAS IT MY FAULT THINGS WERE SO BAD
BECAUSE I WAS BORN WITH HEALTHY LEGS?
WRITING THIS,
IT'S SO HARD TO BELIEVE
HOW MUCH MY HEART STILL HURTS
FOR THAT LITTLE GIRL.
SHE LOVED TO SING ABOUT JESUS,
JOYFULLY JOINING THE CHILDREN'S CHOIR.
HER FACE GLOWED.
SHE LOVED THE LORD.
SO, I'M ASKING YOU NOW, LORD,
HAVEN'T I DONE ENOUGH?
THROUGH YOUR GRACE,
I'VE REACHED NEARLY 50 COUNTRIES.
(I CAN'T QUITE WRAP MY HEAD AROUND THAT FACT.)
WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO.
YOU ARE AWARE, AREN'T YOU,
THAT MY LEGS MOST OF THE TIME
REFUSE TO WORK?
BUT, AS I'VE SAID BEFORE,
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING,
SO I GUESS THAT FINISH LINE I LONG TO SEE
ISN'T QUITE AS CLOSE AS I HAD HOPED.

ROMANS 10:11

EVERYONE WHO TRUSTS IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.

TEARS AGAIN (UPDATED)

I'VE ASKED THIS SO MANY TIMES, LORD,
BUT WHY CHOOSE ME?
YOU'VE SEEN WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH,
THE BRUISES,
THE BLOOD,
THE HURTS,
AND MUST I MENTION
THE MISERABLENESS OF MY YOUTH.
ALWAYS FEELING LIKE NOTHING,
STUPID AND UGLY,
LESS THAN DIRT.
TEARS FALLING,
UNCEASINGLY TEASED
FOR WHATEVER REASON.
I WAS TOO TALL,
I WAS TOO THIN,
I HAD A FUNNY VOICE,
I NEVER FIT IN.
ON AND ON AND ON IT WENT.
SO WHO AM I TO SPREAD YOUR WORD?
ISN'T THERE SOMEONE MORE VOCAL YOU CAN CHOOSE?
AND NOW I'M STUCK IN THIS STUPID WHEELCHAIR.
SO, REALLY, LORD,
WHO'S GOING TO WANT TO LISTEN TO ME?
THE ONLY THING I HAVE TO OFFER IS YOU.

PSALM 126:5

THOSE WHO SOW WITH TEARS WILL REAP WITH SONGS OF JOY.

I WANT TO GO HOME

LORD,
WHERE WERE YOU THIS PAST WEEK?
DIDN'T YOU KNOW, COULDN'T YOU SEE
I WAS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM TOO MANY TIMES?
MY ARMS ARE SO BRUISED,
MY BODY IS SO WORN.
I'M TIRED, LORD.
CAN'T YOU JUST TAKE ME HOME?
HOW MUCH MORE PAIN MUST THIS SENSITIVE
BODY ENDURE?
ARE YOU SURE THIS IS MY PATH?
AM I ON THE RIGHT ROAD?
BECAUSE ALL I REALLY WANT
IS TO MAKE IT HOME.

JOHN 15:16

YOU DID NOT CHOOSE ME, BUT I CHOSE YOU AND APPOINTED YOU SO THAT YOU MIGHT GO AND BEAR FRUIT - FRUIT THAT WILL LAST - AND SO THAT WHATEVER YOU ASK IN MY NAME THE FATHER WILL GIVE YOU