The One

I’ll trust in the One.

The One who always was and always will be.

The One who was when I cried in pain

The One who was when I laughed in joy

And the One who will call me home.

Your steadfast love tears away from the world.

The world. 

The fickle, piercing, bland world.

My taste buds tell me of more.

The hints of flavors unknown to man

Tell me there’s so much more to taste

Of You. 

Otherness.

Every hand grows cold.

But Yours always was warm, strong,

Always there to hold me up,

To plead my cause,

To get in the way of the nail that I called forth.

For me.

For me.

There will always be someone better than me.

More beautiful, more youthful, more wise…

But You are the most beautiful, the most old and new, the most wise, most faithful.

Most in love with me.

Me. Why?

I am nothing.

But IAM will make me new.

I AM will give me an appetite for holiness.

Holy, Holy, Holy.

Perfect. Set Apart. 

And You sing.

Drench me in Your song. Renew my soul.

Make me fall in love with You.

Show me my worth so I won’t desire to seek it in anything else.

Give me an appetite for Your love that no man can satisfy.

My Shepherd

We were walking in a field

Arrayed with flowers of every kind

With the serenity and peace of the day

You were the only thing on my mind

The serpent took notice

And saw the sunset up ahead

He could have let us be

But he attacked my heart instead

“That path is tricky

With curves and steep hills

I know a quicker way…

Follow me, if you will.”

For just a moment,

I took my eyes off of You

Why take the hard road

If I didn’t have to?

That’s when I noticed

The eerie shadows of the trees

And in those sweet smelling flowers

Hovered angry, stinging bees

And the clouds overhead,

They might create a storm

And even the once pleasant sun

Was making me far too warm

With his evil grin

The serpent let out a laugh

But before my feet could stumble,

I felt the comfort of the staff

‘Twas my dear Shepherd

Pulling me back in

His arms cradled me safely

And I could breathe again

I forgot the calm peace

Of my Lover’s sweet smell

And the gentleness of His embrace

Far more perfect than I could tell

Yes, this path is longer,

More rocky and curvy, too

But it’s exactly what I want

If I’m walking it with You.

In the Eye

I shake and I shiver; I worry and I quiver

I listened to the lie that You won’t deliver

I’m anxious, I fret, I somehow forget

That Your love alone is my safety net

Falling

Falling

Falling

Catch me, Lord, and hold me near

Don’t let me lose sight of why I’m here

The enemy came in and shook my peace

Tell me who I am; make my storm cease

I am Your daughter, adopted in love

I am Your chosen, bought with Your blood

You’ve promised to use me in unimaginable ways

To tell the whole world of the One who saves

I know it’ll hurt and I’ll be made poor

But You are everything that my soul longs for

In daylight or the dimness of dusk,

If You are near, then I’ll always trust

So let the storms rage all around

For here in the eye, Your peace is found.

Borrowed Words

From a newborn’s cry to an aged one’s cough

From the dirt on the ground to the moon in its loft

In the times when the cup of my joy is full

And in times of sorrow, when my heart is left dull

In the way that the sun dries up the ground

In the way that the wind carries the crickets’ sound

From the moment You said, “Let’s make man in Our image”

To the birth of the very last one of Your elect lineage

From the darkest depths of the open sea

To the tiny, pumping muscle inside of me

Your glory is in all and will be revealed

On the day that the skies are no longer sealed

All this is Yours and is to be desired

All previous, cheap longings have long since retired

My heart and my soul yearn for Your peace

For Your mighty hand to work; the battle over flesh to cease

To be perfect and flawless there in Your presence

To be consumed and love drunk by Your sweet essence

My King, my Lover, the Maker of days,

If only I could offer up some kind of praise

But You see, these words aren’t even my own

Every breath and thought I have come from You alone

So Lord, with these borrowed words I’ll offer You

A heart that needed You to make it new