Gentle Reader,
So many ways to go with this prompt of Kate’s. Listen. A recent experience results in this.
Go.
Do you hear the sound?
Pulsing, pounding, vibrating ’round?
Can you feel it, ‘neath your feet?
Sense it moving, creeping, clapping beat?
Not with eyes is reverberation spied
But with ears, open, open wide
An ache that words cannot express
A sigh too deep, the story repress
A meaning couched behind the words
Fleeting, fast as hummingbirds
More than what is said, down to what is felt
To beliefs, to core, to wounds’ harsh welt
To quesitons, to self-sense, to space
To wondering if there is a thing called grace
Do you hear the sound?
Of people longing, straining, bound?
Of souls in need of strong embrace
To know the God who can outpace
All lies, all hurt, all vision wrecked
The injured ones, He does collect
The ones who huddled in cars sleep
The ones over lost children weep
The ones whose bodies are bruised and black
The ones who know they can never go back
Do we see what God sees, hear what He hears?
Or are we wrapped up in vanishing dears –
The things we hold so close, so safe
No matter how the weight does chafe
The skin of hands held to tight
Hands that were made to spread His light
Do we stop, or do we walk on by?
Do we leave them alone, left to cry?
Left to wonder if anyone cares
Left to wonder if He knows their hairs
Do you hear the sound?
Of opportunities abound?
Or do you sit up in your tower,
Behind your reasons cower?
Stop.
How do we treat those who are different from us? Different life experiences, different views, different choices. Today I was reminded of the vital nature of looking beyond the surface. Of not assuming.
People are people, whoever they are, and all deserve to be treated with compassion.
Oh Marie, this is beautiful! There is nothing like poetry to soothe the soul. I know it’s not the meaning of your post, but I could really identify with the hurting people you described. It feels like me today. I couldn’t find the words to express to myself or to God how I feel. But now I’m telling him about the “ache that words cannot express” and about what has hurt me “to beliefs, to core, to wounds’ harsh welt” and that I’m “wondering if there’s a thing called grace”. Yes, I’m a “soul in need of strong embrace.” Thank you, thank you for giving words to my feelings tonight. It’s a blessing to have stopped by from fmf today!
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Darling Katy, my heart feels what you feel right now. There are so many questions. Thankfully God doesn’t mind them. He’s happy to listen, happy to answer. Thanks for coming by!
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Marie, what a great post! Thank you for the exhortation to listen for the opportunities God brings across my days to share His love with others. It’s easy to rush on past because “I have SO much to do,” but that’s not what ultimately pleases God. What blesses Him is when I love like He does. Thanks for that reminder, friend.
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It is hard, for real, to get on His timetable. I think it’s because most of the things we get caught up in are necessary things, things that must be done. That’s how I am, anyway. Total Martha. “Gotta do laundry. Gotta run these errands. Gotta go here, gotta go there.” It takes effort on our part to plug into His agenda for the day.
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Love this, Marie.
All but the bit about hummingbirds. Most animals flock to me (I am something of a standing joke in these parts), but hummers ATTACK me. I’ve been stabbed in the neck three times by the little brutes. Ugh.
Guess I need to listen to them more..?
🙂
#1 at FMF this week.
http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/09/your-dying-spouse-207-why-im-still-here.html
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I probably shouldn’t laugh at the mental picture your words conjured up for me… But I totally did… Hummingbirds attack you?! I have never heard of that!
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Haha! I totally believe him. Birds attack me, too. I’ve had seagulls dive-bomb at me on the beach (people even ran to help), and a parrot once chased me straight through a tourist attraction in South Africa called Birds of Eden (like grabbing my hair and hitting me with its wings). The management said something about the colour of my hair attracting their attention for nest-building, or something like that.
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This is beautiful and powerful and amazingly fluid in just five minutes! Great poem and great message! Love you, friend!
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It was what I call a “Karilee Moment.” God was bossing me, putting fire in my heart. I had to go there. Just had to.
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Great poem – so true that we need to look and listen, to notice those around us so that God can work through us to show them compassion.
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This came out of what I believe to be a very bad response to a homeless man who’s been camping in the parking lot at work. I just…there has to be a better way to deal with the hurting. And we who know the Lord need to lead the way.
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For some reason there seems to be a theme with your fmf posts. probably not intentional but it reveals your heart. Hope you have a good weekend
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Really? I am completely unaware. Honest. I’d be interested to know what theme you see.
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THIS: “People are people, whoever they are, and all deserve to be treated with compassion.” I’m reminding of how as Lutherans, we are called to look at our neighbors in the best possible light. Yet we are so quick to judge. We need to do better don’t we!! I’m in the 56 spot this week.
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“Called to look at our neighbors in the best possible light.”
That’s powerful. Light reveals truth and blasts away assumptions. Good word, friend!
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So well put! Our calling. To be living conduits of God’s love to a world so scattered and torn.
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May we indeed be those conduits, Robert!
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Marie, I couldn’t stop crying in reading this…because I had to think of two separate moments I failed to stop, when I just know I was being called to stop and draw near to a stranger. That God put her on my path again should have made it absolutely clear to me. She’s a mother at my oldest’s swimming lessons who I’ve spoken to before, and who looked to be nursing a sore arm. She’s a Muslim (headcovering). Later, I saw her again at the doctor’s office with my girls, as I was leaving…but I kept walking…I could have easily taken a few minutes and let the kids play with the toys there and just said hi. Thank you for this wake-up call…this much-needed conviction. Praying for a new opportunity to sit and listen to her.
Thank you so much for speaking the heart of our God.
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Oh, Anna. I understand. I’m the same way. I get so wrapped up in my own stuff or I let myself be flattened by fear. These words are just as much for me as for anyone else.
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It was good for my heart to be convicted and for me to seek God’s grace. So thankful for you and your challenging and encouraging words: we need both to grow. Without the salt, it’s not truth.
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Love this. Wonderfully written!
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Thank you!
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Marie, you have such a beautiful gift for poetry!
Love this: “Of souls in need of strong embrace / To know the God who can outpace” What a comforting word picture that God can outpace us! No wonder we can follow Him with confidence.
Have a great week!
Shauna (FMF#19 this week)
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