His name was Giuermo.
He was a dark hispanic, probably around the age of 55 with long white curly hair and eyes that could light up the night sky. His clothes were a bit soiled, but overall, it was in decent condition considering he had been living on the streets for a while now. His face multiplied in wrinkles when he smiled, the creases on his face more defined on the meat where his mouth and his cheekbones met, wrinkles also forming near the edges of his eyes. His face crinkled with excitement and his eyes twinkled with joy and his teeth sparkled with the secret of paradise whenever he smiled.
We had met him last week at skid row,to put it plainly, divinely. In short, we saw him walking down the street and since he was too far from us, we decided to get back in the car and chase him down because we felt led to talk to him. His initial reaction was one of surprise and mistrust,but when Brian ran after him with a sandwhich in his hand, Giuermo turned around and greeted us with a big smile. he ran to us and gave us a hug, elated that we had brought him food. We also gave him a sleeping bag and he instantly looked towards heaven and clasped his hands, thanking jesus over and over again. His insurmountable joy for having God provide the simplest things was overwhelming. Although he literally had nothing, he had everything in Christ; even his homeless situation did not hinder him from clapping and singing praises of jubilation and exultation to God.
We knew he was of the christian faith, and when we tried to talk to him, he could only reply back in Spanish and a few English words. Miraculously, we still understood what he was saying with his hand gestures and his few English words scattered here and there. After praying and imparting blessings onto him, we told him that next time we came to visit him we would try to learn more Spanish so that we could communicate with him.
yet he replied back with a response that was both surprising and touching.
he said,
"in Jesus, the only language is love. I love you guys."
wow. so simple, yet so profound and so true.
What Gieurmo had said struck a beautiful chord in my heart, as I knew that this simple truth was so real. Love is the only language that can bridge social classes, racial differences, and cultural distinctions. Love really is the only language that everyone, no matter what you are or where you came from, can understand. Love does not raise walls of distinction or emphasize differences in background, culture, or intellect, but instead love looks past differences and strives for commonality, blurring the lines and bridging the gaps that would cause man to separate. Love has no boundaries. Because love is also an action, when you show someone an act of kindness, it is understood and received and known as love.
In our case, our commonality is Jesus, who is Love incarnate, the I AM who IS love.
And Jesus is the one who came down to earth to be the ultimate mediator between God and man. He is the ultimate bridge builder who bridged the greatest gap. He is the one who made an eternal way for man to be able to reach god, to have unlimited access to the Holy of Holies, into the most intimate place with the Father now and forever more. There is nothing that can ever come in between God's love for us now, no height nor depth, nor angels nor demons, nor things in the past or in the future that can ever ever ever separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Saviour.
wow... and surely Jesus' love has no boundaries. And because of Christ Jesus, the boundaries of culture and society are no longer in place, for we are all brothers and sisters in one body, in one Church, under one god. In Christ, we can look past all these physical boundaries and limitations and acknowledge each individual as they truly are-- a precious soul, God's cherished creation. For in Christ there is no longer Jew nor Gentile, male nor female.
And at the end of the age, ALL peoples from EVERY nation, tribe and tongue will worship god and we will all come together with one mind and one joy, having love as our centrality as we all worship our lord and Saviour Jesus!
Love came down and rescued me,
Love came down to set me free,
and now I am Yours, I am forever Yours.
An act of faith is a heart of praise.
As i was struggling with my sins a few nights ago and I felt helpless to ward it because I'd been having to battle this certain struggle for a time now, God reminded me of this simple truth.
wow.... I had almost wanted to go to bed, not willing to fight, and desiring to simply close my eyes and ignore this feeling that had come upon me. But as I was saying a short prayer, the lord simply reminded me what faith is.
and truly, isn’t faith simply trusting god despite whatever hardships and pain and struggles that we go through? and so then is giving praise not the highest form of faith when one is being put through the fire of trials and circumstance? Doesn’t thanking god for the struggles that we face demonstrate a strong trust in Him--in his perfect and pleasing will, in His path laid out for us, in His ability to deliver us from our sufferings?
And so when god spoke this to my heart, I was overcome and I started thanking God for my situation, for truly God placed this struggle in my life for my good. Thank you lord, that you gave me the privilegdge to struggle through this, because I know you will deliver me because you are mighty to save. Thank you Lord for giving me this burden because when I fully overcome this by your grace, I can then help others who struggle with this sin as well. Thank you Lord, for putting trials and suffering in my life because I know that they only draw me closer to you, to depend on you more. Thank you lord, thank you...
As i began to thank the lord, the burden on my heart started to lessen. and so I asked God,
Lord, please give me a verse that I can read so that I can hold on to your promise. Lord I want to hold onto your truths...
He then led me to Luke 11--
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you;seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
-(Luke 11:7-13)
And as I was reading this, the lord spoke to me and said,
joyce, when have you ever asked, and never received?
when have you ever sought me, and never found?
At this realization I began to tear, for the Lord started bringing to my memory of all the many answered wonderful prayers, all the miracles he’s done, and the matchless, unconditional love and grace he’s poured over and over and over again onto my life. And everytime I sought, I have always found. Evrerytime Ive asked... god really has given... even though I really don’t deserve it.
Lord... I really cant recall a time where you left me, remained silent, dealt with me with impatience, or did not provide for me everything that i needed and asked for...
you have even given me so much more than I have asked, so much more than i even deserve! and lord... I believe you are faithful to see me through and deliver me, because you have always been more than faithful to me, and you will remain faithful til the end.
-------------
today god confirmed to me again through a verse that truly thanksgiving is the best way to break any stronghold in my life, and even in the lives of others.
"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
(romans 5:3-5)
wow... to think upon this paradox--we rejoice when we suffer. when we actually do this, the problem isnt a problem anymore, but is instead transformed into something that can bring more glory and more honour, something that is welcomed and accepted, not spurned and despised. The suffering is actually beautiful now in light of this, because when we share in Christ's suffering, we share all the more in His surpassing glory.
Truly, it is a blessing to suffer, for it is the only way to go from Glory to higher Glory –by overcoming one trial to another. The bigger the trials, the greater the glory.
Amen.
This week is byfar one of the weirdest/ hardest weeks ive had thus far.
I don’t really know where to start…
So I guess ill just begin with last week…for some reason I was having suicidal thoughts. I know this sounds morbid and scary, but I don’t know how to describe what im going through without telling this part as well. I had come back from a worship/ prayer time at PIHOP, and all of a sudden I was consumed with dark thoughts… I wanted to die, and didn’t want to live anymore, I hated the people around me, I just wanted to be alone. And I thought, “why am I feeling this way? This doesn’t make any sense…” I really didn’t know what was happening and I was too tired to fight so I went to sleep asking god to take these thoughts/ feelings of bitter negativity away from me. I woke up the next morning, still not feeling refreshed, a sense of heaviness still weighing upon my heart. The whole week was just… weird. Battling daily, fighting, being wounded by the devil’s sword, praying, and not knowing what was wrong with me, being overwhelmed with emotions ive never felt before.
Last weekend I stayed in Irvine because I needed to do a group project, so I couldn’t go home (which I usually try to come home every weekend to attend my home church and see my family). Whenever I am in irvine, I visit this church called Blessed, and every time I have went I truly have been blessed with the Lords love and presence, and just by the people there. Then during prayer time, the pastor came up and said, “I sense that some of you are struggling with the spirit of death, and that it has been plaguing you over this past week. If you need prayer raised your hand.”
And when he said that, I thought to myself, “omygosh… so that’s what ive been battling through this whole week… a spirit of death.” With the new clarity I had received, I raised my hand to receive prayer.afterwards I met up with my friends from vegas (they had come to visit cali and came to Blessed as well) and I told Ron how the prayer really touched my heart and the how pastor was spot on. Ron then received a word of knowledge from god, in which he told me that the reason why im struggling with his is because I was advancing in the spirit, and Satan felt threatened so he is trying to hinder my relationship with God. But more importantly, my friend told me that the main reason why I have a spirit of death is because someone around me is struggling with this, and that they are unable to pray so God gave me this burden so that I can intercede on their behalf. When ron told me this, I was struck. a few people came to my mind, so afterwards I prayed for them, not really knowing what to do.
The next day on Monday I was still trying to grapple with my thoughts when my friend called me to tell me she was coming to pick me up to go to JHOP (Irvine’s house of prayer, J stands for Jericho). Right after I got off the phone with her, I was overwhelmed with an intense feeling of unrest; my spirit was not at peace at all. I tried to pray it off, but I couldn’t shake the feeling off of me and I was thinking, Lord, why am I feeling this?? This doesn’t make any sense… God is there something wrong with me? What are you trying to show me? Later when my friend picked me up and I got in her car, I told her what I was struggling with, and about my weekend and how God was trying t help me feel other peoples emotions in order for me to better intercede for them. If I can feel the spirit of death from other people, then perhaps people’s emotions transfer onto me and im able to feel them as well? After I finished talking, she looked at me and was completely silent.
“omg jamie… what are you feeling right now?”
“im sorry joyce… I think youre feeling my emotions right now. I really have this spirit of fear, and ive not been at peace because its overwhelming me”
So after this car ride it became more obvious to me that perhaps a lot of other weird thoughts ive been having might not actually be of me, but God trying to help me become aware of other’s emotions. When I stepped into Jhop, I wanted just to rest in his presence and have the Lord’s peace wash over all the anxiety and weariness that I had been wrestling with that day. But when I tried to worship God, I couldn’t. There was this extreme pressure on my chest, and I couldn’t find it in my heart to bring myself to worship Him. I tried to pray it off, but surprisingly, I found that I couldn’t even bring myself to pray, much less speak his name out loud.
“okay Lord… something is definitely very wrong. God I don’t know whether this is my feelings/ something wrong with me, and attack from satan, or someone else emotions.” I sat there for a while not knowing what to do, feeling a bit helpless. “lord… please help me… I don’t know how to pray at this moment…”
“just pray”
“but I cant lord, I cant even open my mouth to pray to you”
“just pray”
“okay, alright god… If I pray and this thing goes away, then that means that this someone else’s burden”
After this I prayed for a while, and when I stopped praying I noticed the pressure on my chest was completely gone. At that moment I realized that someone in the room was struggling with the inability to worship God, so I asked the people around me if they needed prayer.
All this took place Sunday/ Monday.
The rest of my week started going more downhill… for some reason I just didn’t have any desire at all to spend time with god. I didn’t want to talk to him, and I just wanted to ignore him. It was completely bizarre. I did not even touch my bible this whole week, much less pray. My prayers were basically… measly ten minutes, prayers to the air, a prayer “just to pray”… if that makes sense. I couldn’t comprehend what was going on, and why my heart was so hardened. It was so horrific... i felt as if my spirit was literally dying inside of me.
The thing that scares me even more is that sometimes its really hard for me to discern whether the things im struggling with/ the emotions im receiving is really of me or someone elses’. And when I receive things that I normally don’t feel, my first thought is, “ something must be wrong with me.” The lines become blurred and suddenly, someone else’s emotions really mistakenly become mine, and I become overwhelmed with these weird thoughts/ feelings that im having. As my friend was praying for me a few days ago, God was giving me a lot of clarity concerning my situation and told me that what He has given me—the ability to literally feel what other people are feeling—is a gift to bless others, but that satan has been putting a lot of fear into my heart and trying to confuse/ distract me.
So on Friday, God showed me who exactly was struggling with the spirit of death.
That’s a whole other story but I think for now… if those of you who are reading could pray on behalf of my friend-- she is really struggling with so much...-- that she may come to the full revelation of the depth, height, width, and length of God's perfect love for her, and to believe that God is still with her.
and also for me, that god may give me a spirit of wisdom, discernment and love so I can really properly use this gift to reach out to others in the way that God wants me to. Im still not sure why I have such a complacent/ hardened heart right now but I think god’s clarity is so crucial so that I may not be overwhelmed with all these different thoughts and emotions that are invading me, but that I may be able to utilize this gift so that i may intercede on behalf of others with all my heart, mind, strength, and soul.
“ ....I don’t care.... ill curse god as many times as I want to! Let Jesus die 5 more times on the cross... and die 5 times again! Keep dying!”
“No, no don’t say that, you don’t want to keep crucifying Christ with your sin... please! just repent, god will forgive you. Lord...lord! have mercy Jesus have mercy!”
“No I don’t care about Jesus! Look at my eyes, do you see God in them?? That’s right... because I don’t worship God. I worship Satan. He protects me and he keeps me alive.”
“Satan wont help you, he’ll only hurt you... that’s a lie! God is the one giving you the grace to live each day.”
“God doesn’t give me grace, the demons give me grace. You don’t know how many demons I have living inside of me. woman, you don’t know what ive been through. Ive been raped twice, abused, beaten, mistreated my whole life, and been livin on these damn streets for years! youll never know what its like.” * lifts up her shirt to show us her abuse marks on her stomach*
-------------------
at that moment I realized—wow, she’s right. I really don’t know what its like... lord.... oh god.... please help me understand lord. my heart completely broke because I realized how much emotional trauma sherrie had to endure. Not having a place to live and having to sleep out in the streets with no shelter or comfort every day is bad enough, but being mistreated and abused on top of all the other junk, and being manipulated against her own will... must be so painful. These homeless people aren’t just home less—they are emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually afflicted severely. I cant even imagine what its like to be tormented by demons... but the whole atmosphere of skidrow reeks of them... at skidrow, truly you begin to realize how much Satan is like a roaring lion, preying upon people to devour. he walks the streets of skid row as if he owns them... skid row is his territory.
-----------------------
Right then we saw the urgency of her situation and all encircled around her to pray to cast out any demons that were inside of her and she began resisting us and fighting god. but after 1 minute of prayer she completely broke down and started crying on her knees. The hard calluses of her heart had shattered and she realized not only how broken she was, but how great her need for redemption was.
Tears were streaming down her face like a river.
and god told me ,
“she just wants to be loved”
and my heart felt so overwhelmed, because I began to feel the excruciating emptiness that gnaws inside of her heart every night she needs to sleep on the streets, the pain she experiences for wanting to be loved but feeling unworthy of true love and respect—
and so I came to her and I hugged her.
“Sweetie, you know you don’t have to live like this. those demons, theyre tormenting you. they are not helping you at all, and this is why you feel so oppressed because you weren’t made for satan.”
she looked at me, still with tears in her eyes but her eyes were softer now . “youre right...they are tormenting me...”
“you were made by god and for god. the holy god is supposed to live inside of you, and you are supposed to be a holy temple for god. not for demons. they don’t belong in you, you know that? and the God that made you, Jesus... he loves you. he loves you, and that’s why he created you... so that you could experience his love”
“he loves me...?”
amy then took her hand and said,
“shout jesus is lord! shout jesus is lord! confess that he is king!”
and sherrie all of a sudden said,
“Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord! Jesus, I love you!”
and she looked at us and asked, “ does this mean that... im saved?”
“yes, if you have accepted jesus in your heart and you believe in Him, then you are saved!”
“ I am? I am saved!! I am saved! when I said that, there was such a burst of joy in my heart that ive never felt before... the pain is gone... just so much joy... I am saved!”
and she began to cry and cry and hugged each of us and kissed us, telling us that she loved us.
praise god! this is our king! our god is mighty to save! I cannot express the overwhelming joy I felt seeing Sherrie come to the lord.
Jesus. this is the reason why I live. to see your kingdom come, to see your will be done, to see your glory revealed. Jesus. there is nothing else id rather do, and no place id rather be—than to know you and to make you known.
wow.... this is the life. this is truly life in its abundance-- to know you deeper and deeper lord and to make you known to the ends of the earth, all the days of my life!
(org. written on Mar 28, 2010--In the process of transferring some old stuff i wrote in my xanga to my blogsopt ;])
I don’t know what it is, but God definitely has a weird way of telling me things through rings.
Maybe its because He knows my tendencies to fantasize about my future husband (like most girls do) :P
Maybe it has something to do with the symbolism of the ring, and what it ultimately represents—a lasting covenant, an eternal bond, a committed love filled with the depth of intimacy and long lasting years until the day of departure.
Whatever the reason may be, I would like to share a little bit of how God is/ has been using rings to communicate his message to me.
Please bear with me because I know this blog is very very long, but I assure you that it will be worth your time to read it through... so if you are willing to spend fifteen minutes to read through, please do! :]
*******************************
So flashback to 2 years ago, my junior year in high school...
During this time, me and my boyfriend were dating ( about a year and a half). But then when junior year hit, I felt God tugging at my heart and telling me that it wasn’t his will for us to be together. However, I ignored God’s prompting because I was selfish and stubborn, unable to let go of the foundation that I had built for almost 2 years, not willing to let my dreams come to a halting crash, and reluctant to let my well-built relationship with my boyfriend and best friend just die. Why God, why?
Then one night my boyfriend and I had a long, strenuous conversation. We were struggling with each other, and during our talk that night we slightly ventured upon the possibility of breaking up. We ended our conversation frustrated and depressed, and I sat in the shadows of room crying, extremely distressed. God, what do I do? I know what You want, but I don’t want to Lord, I really, really don’t want to let him go. Please help me.
Sometimes when I pray to God to help me and provide an answer, he will show directly me from his word. So I took out my bible, asking God to help me, and he brought me to Jesus’s sermon on the Mount.
...Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted...
Okay god, I know you’re with me. I know you’re comforting me in my time of distress. Please God, Please show me what to do. Show me your will.
However, I prayed this prayer in my heart, already sensing what God wanted me to do. This was more of a plead for god not to take him away from me. I urged for God’s will, yet I wasn’t completely open to it. Still God looked past my sin and remained ever so faithful, meeting me in the time when I desperately needed Him. I then flipped the bible open a second time, and surprisingly, he brought me to one of my favorite passages...
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 cor 13:4-7)
Oh my god.
No way did you just bring me to this verse god. No way.
And as I was reading 1 Corinthians over and over, I felt Him telling me—Joyce, this is true love. Do you have this with Anton? Does your relationship exemplify this love? I realized God had brought me to this passage to remind me of what the essence of true love was, and to help me to see that Anton and I were so far from it.
Okay god, okay, I get it.... now I realize that what we had may not even be true love, therefore it cannot last.... But God, please confirm your will with me. I am still not sure of what I should do.
But of course I knew. God had shown me plainly, yet in my blindness I didn’t want to see; I was still searching for more answers even when I knew that the answer had already been revealed to me. But I went to sleep in a state of relaxation, reassured from the knowledge that God wanted to comfort me and guide me. The next morning I woke up and went to the bathroom to wash my face. The horrors of last night’s conversation had just started to make its way back into my memory, but God’s love covered me in reassurance. I then looked over at my counter and saw a necklace neatly set aside. How strange, this necklace looks so familiar (little did I know that it was the same necklace my cousin had bought for my sister 5 years ago; it was one of those necklaces with a ring dangling from it.) So I picked up the necklace, trying to remember why it looked so familiar. Then I looked at the ring more closely, trying to see the words that were etched around the edges. What I saw etched on the ring brought me in total shock, I stood there literally staring at the ring for minutes without moving.
True love waits.
That’s what the ring said.
True love waits. I hadn’t seen this necklace for years, yet there it was, sitting on the counter. And without a doubt, this was a sign from god. I was now convinced that I needed to wait....for true love, for god’s perfect timing, for God’s perfect will. Indeed, it is good to wait on the Lord.
******************************
Now flash forward to a few weeks ago...
I was walking aimlessly in the Student Center one day when I accidently kicked something on the floor. I looked down to see what it was, and there it was—a ring. A very simple but elegant ring to say the least, but when I picked it up I felt like it was a ring given to me from heaven. When I slipped the ring on (which was the perfect fit), I felt God telling me that He gave me this ring to remind me that His covenant with me is lasting, and that his promises are very real. His love for me is eternal, and nothing can ever separate me from his love for our relationship is everlasting. I am His and He is mine, and I am His beloved that He died for and sacrificed His life for, and he holds my hand and leads me beside still waters and beautiful green pastures.
And as I was admiring the beauty of the ring and its message that god conveyed to me through such a simple act, I felt Him telling me—
Beloved,
Not only does true love wait (the ring I found 2 years ago), but
I Am your True Love.
Wow. That was deep....
God knew.
He knew my tendency for my heart to stray away from him in search of “the one” , a “true love” because I didn’t completely trust Him and his sovereignty, I didn’t have faith that He would bring the right person into my life at the right time so I felt the need to look for a man myself. But oh how God is so good and oh how he knows me so personally, knows the depths of my heart and all my thoughts even before I realize them myself. God, you are amazing. And I know you want to remind me of your love. I remember asking Him to constantly remind me of His love for me, and lo and behold, he provides a ring of assurance for me so that every time I wear it, and I reminded of God’s love for me and where my heart truly should belong—to Him and Him alone.
Thank you Lord for this precious reminder. I thank you because you are such a personal and detailed Father. Lord I know you are my True Love because no one under heaven or earth could ever, ever love me the way you do, or even come close to how immense your love is for me. A million words would not even be sufficient to express your love for each of us. Abba, Father, I thank you for always bringing me back to you.
Thank you, Lord.
Thank you.
God is so amazing. for the longest time I was asking god,
"Lord, why is it so hard for me to accept your love?”
I want to accept his love, but everytime I hear that he loves me, I always cringe inside and shrink away. When he tells me that I have a pure heart, that he loves my voice, or that I am lovely, that he is proud of me... I have such a hard time accepting what he says... I almost want to deny that it is true (or I actually do). This feeling of rejection is partially imparted or self-instructed because I feel unworthy to be loved, that I shouldn’t be loved and that there is nothing about me that God should love. All I can see is my sin and the ugliness, the darkness inside of me—and knowing the chaos of iniquities inside my heart convinces me that I cannot be loved, that I should not be loved. When I see my sin unfold in my life, I do not come to god—I hide away from shame because I do not want to be loved. The magnitude of my sins overwhelms me to the point where I am drowning without cognizantly recognizing that there is air to breathe where the surface of the water breaks. For a time I had been aware that I was making my sins to be too great, and making the cross to be way too little... but I didn’t know how I could change that and fully live the truth of the gospel out.
I had been asking the Lord that question for quite a while now... and he had been revealing the answer to me little by little, never giving me the full revelation behind my question. A few things he had told me was—I had lost the child-likeness I had before where I would trust and believe whatever he would tell me. I have lost the longing expectancy I used to have for him as the bride waits for the bridegroom, even fallen out of love with him, my eyes no longer fully set on Him and Him alone...
one night he told me,
Joyce you want to love others and you want to love me more, but how can you do either when you do not let me love you first?
I was broken.
how Lord?? How do I let you love me god?
I know I build a lot of walls around my heart...because my heart is so inclined to want to be loved—and because I am fully aware of this—I try to harden my heart so I wont always feel the need to be loved. consequently, hardening my heart in that way and rejecting love and wanting to feel independent from anyone or anything also hardens my heart from the ultimate Lover, the one who lavishes so freely. I cant really pinpoint specific points in my life where my heart was hurt, but perhaps I also hold offense towards God as well?
---
whatever the reason, this past weekend God showed me why he didn’t fully reveal to me why the condition of my heart was that way. But he came to me in such quiet humbleness, in sweet tenderness, in loving kindness and told me that it was not up to me to change myself... he told me that he would to give me new garments to wear, that I didn’t need to live in the identity of the old that I had been clinging on to. He gave me the solution, he didn’t point more to the problem. He didn’t accuse me, didn’t charge me for rejecting his love, didn’t even resent me for wanting other things, didn’t even give me the full blown in-your-face anaylsis of the hardened condition of my heart and why I cant accept his love. No... all he told me was that He would give me a deeper revelation of the Lamb, the lamb that was slain for my iniquities.
He reconfigured and realigned my identity in him... that I AM his beloved, I am his princess. He took off my rags of unworthiness and sorrow and clothed me from head to toe in glistening white garments of praise and purity. I may still not know why I had such a hardened heart, but I am convinced that the Creator of heaven and Earth can take any heart of stone and melt it so that it becomes a heart of flesh.
cold winter blue skies enter
and
chase away the warm sun--
the light of day.
the season changes from warm to cold, from life to death.... is this a new time for renewing what was lost? or losing what once was?
should it be
thought of as the sun entering into its rest,
or should it be
thought of as the cold overtaking the sunlight of life?
should it be
peace in knowing that the sun will rise again, that there in the death of the barren snow there comes a renewal, a restoration of life in the next season--
or do i see
the winter?
