Yaylife! the Joy of Finding the God Who Found Me: Wordsongs on Life and Faith from an April’S Fool

By Katy Bartos

What if you miss the point of life? Or you find happiness and success, but the deeper joys escape you? What if you’re stuck in drudge that slowly suctions life out of you? Or never really discover your true purpose?

Are you suddenly grasping that as you accomplish your bucket list, you look back on your life and see that there was a hole in your bucket all along, yet you’re still empty? Your unidentifiable inner hunger remains unsatisfied?

Through engaging writings of different styles, humor, struggle, doubt, pain, and plenty of surprises, the ‘YAY’ rose up out of the author’s life and landed in this book. Most of them were written purely for self-expression, then the joy of sharing life and healing with friends gave them life and purpose. Chapters and pieces are arranged to delight, comfort, and o yes, challenge. Designed to winsomely feed your soul, this book provides choices to fit your mood or need, or just be relaxing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973632405

Katy Bartos

In her whimsical and refreshing way, Katy journeys with people through ups and downs, digging deep, getting in the mud, and discovering fun and the treasures of knowing God. Her writing styles are uniquely intriguing. Katy faces inner grapplings, looking beneath the surface with compassionate understanding. In friendship, her perspective inspires hope, healing, and tuning in to God. This is also reflected in her photography, noteworthy for catching stunning or quirky things. She is a fan of fresh air and refreshing perspectives.

Book preview

Yay Life!

The Joy of Finding the God Who Found Me

WordSongs

on Life and

Faith from an

April’s Fool

Katy Bartos

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Copyright © 2018 Katy Bartos.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3239-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3241-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3240-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018907687

WestBow Press rev. date: 9/11/2018

Contents ~ A View of the Trail Ahead

Chapter 1    Welcome Mat

Chapter 2    Carefree Child

carefree child

look for the sky!

Word Weaver

in HiM

His Word is a thread

the life of a thread

a sprinkling of seeds

forsythia

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 3    Rainbow Sparkle Snow

hand of dancer, painter

hemlock

Sundancing

Heavy Rain

rainbow sparkle snow

flowers from heaven

Snow is …

happy doggie

sweet secrets

how i feel about rules

love is fresh laundry

i cast my bread on the waters

jars of clay

Mercy’s New Song

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 4    Wrestling the Doldrums

clouds

life is complicated

a season of cold hard faith

But God, You Can’t Mean This?

Peter’s worst day ever

mustard seeds

Healing is an amazing thing

sometimes darkness

fear is as fear does

my mirrors

selfie overload

tattoos and body piercings

it ain’t over

Birch Tree

Cold Dark Hole … What if . . . ?

little lamb lost in brambles

every sin i savor

vicTory

True Love, Tale of Eden

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 5    Jubilant Journey

O Maestro!

road trip with cello blessing

faith hope trust

Why I Wear Black

oui oui

i know i’m a nut

the porkypine’s song

Joy is

my foot prints

The Chronicles of L.B. Saahks

Incredible Ice … . and … . Life Ice

winter triumph

trust is molecular

knights of creativity

nite crawling

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 6    Striking Gold ~ SoulSongs

The Prince Who Loved Me

Dear Jesus, Anointed One,

Just DO It! One by One for my One and Only

o Abba my Abba

The Lord is my soul’s pillow

Jesus, my Savior, a song from my heart

Gentle Shepherd

Jesus, You are my Shepherd!

Jesus is the Breath of Life!

Jesus You are my Truth

The Path of Salvation …

At the Foot of the Cross

Some of my Favorite Bible Verses

The Good News of the Great I AM

The ‘Priestly Blessing’,

God Bless our family each and everyone

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 7    Golden Pebbles

Dedication to Lewella Francis

Be Courageous

Be Courageous!

Tribute to Long-time Friends

ReminisSings of my Aunt Sally

Why I visit People that I don’t even know at the Nursing Homes

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Terri

Thanks, Mom!

Hands and Hearts

treetop goodbye

Golden Crowns of Glory

rise above

another little lambie’s Farewell to Shirley

my balloon Ladies

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 8    I’ll Fly Away

be creative

life cycle of a humble caterpillar

Seed Dreams

i’ll fly away

the amazing secret of living with Grace *

it’s all about you

Gingko Rapture!

Gingko Rapture, Revived !

April’s Fool

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 9    The CHRISTmas Gift: God’s Excellent Love Now Declared!

Surviving the Holidaze

Snowman

Miracle Implosion

The Christmas Lamb

Mystery of Christmas

Holiday Angst

Have Fun with the Christmas FROG!

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 10     Bouquet of Old Friends

S.A.F.E. Communication

Enhance your Healing. Examine your Life for Blocks to Healing.

Massage

Grace Alive

Because

A Quiz about Your Favorite Book

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 11     God’s Electric Power Company

Gear Up

7 Wonders of God’s Love

Flying Free

Oceans of Mercy

Finding Joy in Puddles and Clouds

Give Me an Undivided Heart

God’s Electric Power Company: Love Letters!

The Other Side of Suffering

Chapter 12    Living a World Vision

A Story of Grace

A letter to World Vision

Psalms from a Mother’s Heart

My 2010 WV Adventure Journal Entries

Living a World Vision

Chapter 13    My ‘Why?’ … and Other Challenging Questions

my recipe for life

humble scribblings

Downsizing Dilemmas

my ‘WHY?’ and other Hard Questions

Verses for personal or group study

Chapter 14    Resources ~~> Artist Profile ~~> Happy Trails to You ~~> Benediction ~~>

Artist Profile

If you are the one who is reading this,

this Labor of Love is … …        for you <~~

may you find the

One who is seeking you

in what you are holding in your hands,

and may you discover True Love.

This book, and my life, is dedicated to:

my One and Only!

that my little light may shine on the path to Your love … This was written for all the years i tried to write God out of my own story,

with grateful appreciation and love for my mom who would’ve loved it!

& for my family & friends!

if we’ve shared tears of joy or sorrow

laughter or hard times …

if i’ve shared a poem with you

and you’ve responded with your heart …

if you’ve prayed for me …

Thank you for walking with me toward light and life!

and for you, Deanna, my coach,

for letting God’s inspirations pour thru as encouragements …

what a gift you’ve been to me!

To Shirley, Rosie, Carolyn, Caryn, Elias, Bridget, Justin,

Debbie, Julieanne, Karen, Laura, Erica …

Thank you each so much for flying with me!

To both my friend Carolyn Roberge,

for your beautiful Heart’s Garden watercolors and sketches

and my daughter, Erica Bartos, for your intricate ‘Vine of Life" …

my humblest, heartfelt appreciation for your amazing artistic creations!

To Rosie Dennerlein and Erica for technical assistance.

Your generosity overwhelms me.

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Chapter 1

Welcome Mat

Please, come on in!

No need to wipe your feet … we’ll soon be going right back out the door! Let’s go recharge our batteries, the natural way! For a metaphorical hike in the woods. Metamorphical too. Hopefully transformational, or at least somewhat entertaining.

What is being shared in this book is not about hiking, but it is about a journey. It’s about going deeper and higher into the secret places of the heart, the ones that make life richer and more meaningful. Touching a reality that can’t be touched. Seeing life differently. Doing life a whole new way. Perhaps meeting some new friends in wild places!

What if we really are living in the grace of God, and just aren’t aware of it most of the time? What if some of the things we see and feel are reflections of our connections with our Creator? It would be hard for me to imagine not having experienced my encounters with finding hearts on rocks and clouds and shadows and other ridiculous objects (like, even on food as i am eating it!). They cannot be just coincidences. They have made me incredulous, and delighted. As streams wiggle downhill to hide in quiet puddles (no kidding, some little girls can actually tell time in them!), these enchanting blessings have consecrated me with joy that settles into peace, and reflects the sunsets.

What if sometimes the zone i find Jesus in, ‘my God zone,’ can overlap with your ‘God zone’ while we travel together? Well then, it is for our common good and edification. (You can put that word in your pocket and look it up when you get home!)

Before we start, can we talk about sneakers? Because … mine are already too tight. One reason to escape into the woods and wander on trails is for the freedom and fresh perspectives.

So, shed your work duds or office costume, and get comfy. No need for you guys to shave. Ladies, you can take a day off from hair-doing and make-it-upping … because getting out on the trail is about stepping thru a doorway to a whole other world … breathing air no one else has breathed yet.

The Thing about work is that sometimes it gets kind of routine. It has its purpose, and we will do some of that too. But outside, hiking … . isn’t it delightful to see a deer with her fawn? On the trail, if a snake crosses our path, some of us might jump or scream, but won’t it be something to talk about on Monday?!

So if you’re brave and still want to come on this adventure, welcome! If you are not so courageous, awww, c’mon, come for a little while anyway. You’ll at least get a whiff of the fresh air.

Will you forgive me this one thing before we begin? Some writings lend themselves to neat little rows of thought, starting with a big letter, ending with a little dot. Hopefully, you will notice when i am doing that. Xxxxxx. They are a nice option, so can we consider them optional? i have this thing about capital letters, they take too much energy to type, interrupt my flow of thought, crimp my creativity, and crick my neck. Yet, forgoing the use of capital letters doesn’t dilute serious intentions. Consider this: capital letters can sometimes be like poetry wearing little uniforms. poetry has fewer rules, so do i. (Spellinng is more important, tho.) Poetry slows the pace so we can ponder, like going barefoot on the beach, having open air shine on our lives differently.

Do we really want stop signs and traffic lights on the trail? or on the beach? or at the playground?

Can we agree to disagree? Could i just use them some of the time? i’ll try not to be too annoying about it.

On a sincere note, i prefer the small letter when i refer to myself. Partly it’s a humble thing, really, a servant-leadership way of expressing innate equality. Partly it’s because minimizing the use of the shift key truly does save me hand and neck stress. Too much energy to use the shift key, and i am not that important. Besides it’s a fun rule to break that doesn’t hurt anyone.

Honestly, in my heart, the little i reflects my faith and freedom ‘in the Spirit’. When i use the little i, it feels like i’m being real, without all the masks and formalities of trying to measure up. Certainly i can be formal too, in the work world, at funerals, or when i have to, when it’s required. Beyond that, aren’t choices fun?

Out on the trail, many recognize that using a lower volume on our voices helps to keep the ambience appealing, to let the space be, well, space. Open space. In the same spirit, as a gesture of goodwill, how about if i try to mostly conform to spelling conventions, and attempt to use grammar and sentence construction in a functional way that facilitates the flow. (p.s. There actually are shiny black shoes in my closet, for formal occasions, and whenever else i feel like it!)

In the spirit of freedom, can we practice a little right here:

what’s laughter if it isn’t taking off your straight face

and letting the guffaws out?

throwing the windows of your eyes up

and letting the twinkles show? and the wrinkles!

laughter is one of the best parts of being human!

think of the times you’ve laughed the hardest

did your eyes run with tears? did your nose run?

were you in the library snorting?

attracting disapproving scowls? stares and glares?

did you wet your pants, or even almost?

now that you’re all grown up,

do you ever wish you hadn’t laughed so hard?

do you remember what you were even laughing about?

isn’t the joy more important?

and actually, when it comes to living,

this life is just a rough draft,

with lots of revisions.

if we have time …

So. now that i’ve loosened the laces on my sneakers … . are you ready to ‘walk together’ for a while? i know a life trail with a really nice view … come on, i’ll show you the way … it’s in a pleasant valley near a quaint village (<~~ this is true in my real life!) and overlooks a really beautiful wild and scenic river. along the river are some sweet secret spots where i will just walk and talk, and sometimes sing my heart out to the love of my life. the only One who is True Peace listens to me, whispers to me. and as i walk, i listen to the One who calls my name. it’s fun!

and then, with only a 20 minute hike up to the overlook, getting there and being up there gives me a whole new outlook on life. over the years, my family and friends have come here countless times … there’s a web of other trails to get here. some are short and sweet, or with a variety of ecosystems, some longer yet more ‘scenic’. still, the view at the top is the one i love the best.

Warning: Don’t eat any berries you find on the way. Not a good idea, there are a lot of imposters, ask your trail guide first.

When you’re out here in God’s creation away from the world, you’ll hear the songs of life, the tree leaves whispering. the wind dancing and playing, critters making themselves known. While you’re here, my hope is that you will listen for the comfort, healing, and joy your Creator wants to sing to your heart.

Remember, you don’t even really know me. But know this, i would never intend to represent the voice of God. Much effort has been put in crediting every verse and version used. Anything i write here ~~> measure its veracity with the Bible, the Word of God. Let’s be clear, that is the only reliable Trail Guide. In some pieces where i’ve tried to share the beauty of a growing, deeply personal relationship with God, my desire is to have freedom in His grace.

But, of course! …

Along the way, you’ll have many choices too. Like anything else in life, options make life interesting. If we start on a trail that isn’t appealing to you, no problem, turn the page. We’ll take a shortcut to somewhere else.

Or you can call it quits and come back another day. The timeless echoes of nature is one of the most appealing and healing to our souls because they are available when we are. Many of the writings are meant for pondering. As in any new friendship, it takes a while to get to know each other, to ride with the quirks and let laughter win the day.

My hope is for you to have fun and perhaps to see spiritual things with renewed vision.

Ready? Let’s go!

katy

It would be my joy if you wanted to be in touch with me.

You are invited to email me at

[e-mail]

~ ~ ~

Chapter 2

Carefree Child

006BoyFishing.JPG

carefree child

a carefree child sees a swing in the tree

skips to it and clambers on

for the pure joy-and-delight rides through the air

suspended

she uses her arms and head and legs and waist

and plays with the tension of the rope

teasing the swing to play back-and-forth games

delighted

invisible air becomes a reality holding her up

whipping her hair in a game of here-and-there

singing songs of whispers and distant callings

oblivious

questions-and-worries hinder her not

larger questions of life and limb, hers and the tree’s

will the rope break? will the seat fall off? will she?

ridiculous

but life crowds in to those who have been around a while

like a bad dream repeating the themes of pain and fear

unanswered questions pinch-and-poke

relentlessly

Come to Me like a little child, full of wonder and trust

Give Me all your concerns-and-doubts, swirling

Who holds the stars up? Who keeps the sun shining?

Wonder at that!

oh! … . i must come like a child, innocent!

to take the bad dream and bury my face in a loving shoulder

stop running away and hide-and-seek Your safety

receiving love!

run for the delight of running, stop and make snow angels

dance-and-prance in the tall grass, hide in the fort

if we are all there is, Who is holding the rope of the swing??

the fragile threads of life?

postscript       from a friend to me       2015 05 26

a carefree child sees a swing

Katy, I absolutely love this, because these words are the Lord’s words. I have a good friend, who stopped over today. He saw me out there with my neighbor. He was a police officer before retiring, a beautiful fixer. He has been through the ringer, and sometimes I will remind him that he does not have to do this thing called life alone. One of the questions he brought up today as we all stood there talking was the idea, ‘Why can’t we be like children?’ He then said that life has a way of making sure we do not remain like a child. Then, just now, I opened my email, eager to read the poem you said you were sending. I am so in awe, my friend thinking God is not listening, then this. I took a photo of it and sent it to him. What a miraculous life we live. Thank you, Katy.

Your friend in God!

ktb to friend

it is always amazing to watch God work! … . with the eyes of our hearts! and when He does, it feels like a door just opened and Fresh Air just blew in,

the Breath of Life!

~ ~ ~

look for the sky!

new home on a lake

beautiful child, three and a half years old

i can still see her cute face clearly

floating in the water

as i stood above her on the dock

in that endless moment before rescue

her big beautiful eyes wide open

trusting

little cheeks puffed out big

hair like a halo

around her head, dreamily

learning a life motto:

"honey, if you ever fall in the water,

hold your breath and look for the sky!"

she did!

it worked!

still now, 30 years later, they are words of wisdom

whatever has startled or over-whelmed you,

hold your breath and look for the sky!

then,

breeeeathe!

~ ~ ~

Word Weaver

He is the Word Weaver

i am but His pen

on His paper

He inspires

i watch in wonder

all good gifts are from our Creator. From James 1.17

i can do nothing good without God. From John 15.5

~ ~ ~

in HiM

i am in Him!

see me?

right there in the middle of Him:

H i m.

it’s like a hug from Him!

He is LIFE,

so i am in LiFE too!

i am in CHRiST!

oops!

i am in sin too.

now what do i do?

don’t worry!

i am in sin,

BUT, GOD wins!

i am also in HiM.

new LiFE in Him!

He DIED, i want to die in Him.

His LIGHT shines.

my light is like a little candle:

i

His LiGHT surrounds me.

even in the darkness,

my little candle

S H i N E S !

with HiS POWER!

and by HiS GRACE,

this little light of mine,

i’m gonna let it shine!

For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4.6

HalleluYah!

~ ~ ~

His Word is a thread

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my Shepherd protects me with His walking stick

as His sword

His Word carves truth and creates life.

i stand

on HIS WORD.

i stand

on the ROCK

and w a t c h and w a i t

for H I M.

~ ~ ~

the life of a thread

the life of a thread

tightly wrapped on a spool

waiting

wondering

if …

when …

in the hand of the Master

becomes a tool

taking separate lives

and binding them together

a quilt of life

bringing warmth

blessing

joy

connection

purpose

one thread

one Master

one Love

~ ~ ~

a sprinkling of seeds … … … … …

o God, You made the seed i hold in my hand

You shine the sun as i till the land

You plant me like a little seed

Whatever You do is all i need

my life is Yours

i’m Your little seed

Reign in me

i trust You!

indeed!

… . .       … . .       … . .       … . .

i feel a poem coming on … . . like a seed sprouting

the shell cracks

little roots shoot

tiny sprouts shout, here i come!

thru the cold dark dirt

the sun zings in … zap!

Miracles begin! YAY Life! God smiles!

All of life is in the seed … … . Marvel at that!

Think of it … … the fruit of an apple seed

… … . is an orchard!

and a happy child!

holiday pies, yum!

one sprout, one tree at a time

one family with a basket to fill

and laughter

climbing the tree for pure adventure

… …

a seed is a hope and a promise,

following a genetic code

passed thru generations of happy apples,

the details of past rules and ‘laws of being’

passing thru obediently

to the future to carry on

simple delights of life

ahhhh, the fragrance of an apple pie baking

fruit of one obedient seed,

left in the cold damp soil to die!

wait and wait and wait,

as a seed

as a skinny little sproutling tree

from a young tree to an old mature gnarled one

pruned and trimmed for decades

held captive

enduring harsh weather

yet bountifully giving year after year!

… …

Every sacrificial act

whether joyfully given or with reluctance

can become gifts of love

seeds of blessings

harvest

abundance

by the hand of the One who created the seed

and engineered Life!

Consider the lowly seed in wonder!

In heaven,

we may actually see the gardens that grew

from tiny seeds of faith!

May our hearts be warmed and comforted

with the pleasure of the Divine Designer

in the seeds we scattered!

… . .       … . .       … . .       … . .

April Fool’s day 2017 He is telling me to write! to publish a book!

A day later, out from the seed of this poem, sprouts a new poem:

Nancy and Shirley’s poem! (it’s in the chapter titled ‘Golden Pebbles’)

~ ~ ~

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forsythia

1.           spring drama!

cascading

forsythia

leap-frogging sunshine

to

hurry

spring!

captured

fireworks

exploding!

reminding hearts

to hope!

2.           four days later

there was a

‘h o l e

in my bucket’

when i planted the rest of the tiny grape hyacinths

neatly in the garden last fall …

seven of them ‘escaped’ to the lawn

(nine actually. oops! hee hee!)

i see the leaves, but the buds are still crouching low

hiding … waiting

here and there and elsewhere

brilliant deep yellow crocus

have been blooming for two weeks

laughing at winter.

i snuck them in last October

when i hoped the yard grouch wasn’t around

(which is hard because he comes and goes a lot).

but …

my blossoming,

cascading forsythia

and my perpetually-in-bloom silk cherry tree

have been moved from the front path

(where they had flourished,

announcing to all the drivers-by that Jesus is Life)

to my back patio.

all of my other silk flowers are banished to the house … temporarily,

the peace lily

the purple one-stemmed cemetery-combo

in honor of Aunt Sally

the golden-yellow fall one-stemmed many-splendored one

that i had found unused by the side of the road

and considered a gift from God to me

no doubt relocated by the wind,

(how would i know where to replace it?)

(o yeah, just down the road from the cemetery where my mom is)

the old green lounge chair with the two broken front feet …

migrated

to the gaping pit of the dumpster

(no chance of me resurrecting it for one more season

for a slightly-crooked place to sit and tie my shoes, or read a book).

who moved them all?

i did, gladly, willingly. it is part of the spring scheme.

the shadow of the big rock in the front

that blooms a heart-shadow on this side of it

at this time of day

is creeping across my lawn into the evening

to wait for the April nearly-full moon to rise.

this is all good news.

it is late afternoon on Holy Thursday

a clear beautiful day

perfect day for the ‘grumpy’ yard guy to drag vines out of his tree

and mine

and for us to have some … friendly conversational pieces!

i am amazed.

then around 3 p.m. a motor commences …

finally i see it in the front:

a red thing with wheels and a hose

chugging

after a few furtive peeks out the window

it becomes obvious that today is the day for him

to power-wash the siding in front

(he coulda said something)

unusual energy.

i hem and haw inside …

do i go out and offer to move all my pretty

silk flowers and 3 watering cans out of his way?

or

do i hope he just skips my part, or works around everything?

the latter.

(i had started to go out, but by the time

i got up my courage

he was right by my window and

the mist and drips would have gotten me all wet!)

(and i didn’t feel like going out the back door to get there).

so,

after the noisy growly machine stopped,

and the truck was gone,

i went out to polish dry my windows

(free window wash today!)

as i finished

the truck went by

and s l o w e d d o w n,

i pretend i am not anticipating the worst

and instead say …

‘that worked great!’

and he nicely asks if i could move my plants and stuff

so he could finish tomorrow

‘of course!’

I know this is hard for you to believe

but i did it, very cheerfully, all of the above

realizing immediately two things:

it fits into my plan perfectly, and …

God has really changed him

and me too! in spite of my attitude.

God has really answered my prayers!

Forgiveness has borne fruit …

just in time for Passover and Good Friday

(i call it Awe-ful Friday)

and Resurrection Day!

3.

crucified Messiah

defying Death

redeeming us

into

eternal

Life!

plan? what plan?

on Resurrection day, God and i are playing a joke.

so, after dark,

the night before

i’ll sneak outside to situate all the flowers … out front,

(and many more that haven’t been out yet)

so that the beauty will

remind everyone

of the King of Life!

that’s my joke.

His joke happened

t w o t h o u s a n d y e a r s a g o.

4.           in the tomb.

so, me

(who sees a metaphor i n e v e r y t h i n g)

as i look out onto the back patio from in the house,

i am enjoying watching

the late afternoon sun on the day before

tickling the forsythia and cherry tree

with a breeze

as they laugh at the big joke

together with me and God

and about how God got the yard guy

to power wash the front

for God’s special occasion … .

later

in the house

where i and my silk flowers patiently wait

it’s darkish

in contrast to the

bright patio

with flowers and a kiss of the sun

it is like … a tomb in here

a tomb with unlikely hope

like that stone vault

that kept the secret with our Savior

as the Son who never dies

neatly folded

the death drapes

and withdrew

we all know

that not all tombs are t e m p o r a r y

or do we?

(Lazarus has his own opinion!

He’s been in two short-term accommodations!)

when we believe

and we are even willing

to follow the Son who shines

into a tomb

or a hospital room

or a soup kitchen

or a war zone

or a disaster area

if we hold onto hope

no matter what seems impossible

even from inside the dark tomb

we can help Him set out the

freedom

fireworks ! * *!*! ***! ! ! !

that will announce His new kingdom of Life

to a dark and captive world!

5.

disobedient forsythia

pruned back

smiling

and learning

to be joyfully

obedient!

a wild creature

has been tamed,

… temporarily

my friend Mercy is very proud of me

Surely, i got to be Goodness today

without even trying.

God poured His grace on me

and for most of it

i didn’t even know it was happening.

p.s.

poetry is beautiful when