Redwoods of Mount Hermon, CA

SH_180331-Monterey-3260-Edit-Edit-2

I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. J.Kilmer

A poem for National Poetry Month

When I see a child’s happy face,
It reminds me of a different place.
A child of an innocent age,
But now, time has turned the page.

Fading memory my only measure,
Longing for that long lost treasure.
I see it faintly in my dreams,
What could have been is all it means.

Wars and famine crush and rake,
Leaving sadness in their wake.
Such joy lost, the world has taken,
Bewildered children left forsaken.

To carry this burden of what was lost,
Squandered purity, a terrible cost.
I had no idea how much it mattered,
Joy and peace so quickly scattered.

Can anything undo what’s been done?
Bring back the child to play and run.
Roll back time before I knew,
The terrible taste of that cursed brew.

With great love God became the key,
Stooping down He rescued me.
He offered His life exchanged for mine,
Pure and holy no end with time.

Now I dance before my Lord.
His love my banner not the sword.
Held secure above the fray,
Purest joy with no decay.

Come all who thirst for water clear,
Drink in His life; wash away the fear.
Let God write your poem anew,
Sparkling glory of God in you.

by Stephen Hufman

Rejoice

Rejoice

Rejoicing in new life

Rejoice, He has risen.
It is the death of Death,
New life in His life,
And the hope of glory.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Matthew 28:5-6

Ours for the Asking

Such beautiful water

Such beautiful water

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. (Psalm 89:14)

We all want a land with the environment as it should be, unpolluted by the trash, clear crisp horizons, green healthy forest. If this is how we feel for the physical world how much more for spiritual. Oh, for a land where rightness and justice stretch from horizon to horizon. Where love and faithfulness flow unending from God to sustain life in all its abundance. The problem is me, I have pride, lust, selfishness, and other faults that hold me captive, and if I were permitted to enter would spoil the land of my dreams.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Corinthians 15:57)

In Jesus Christ I have a way to regain my innocence and purity, a new creation never to be a blemish again. I can enter into God’s presence and be part of the joy.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! … God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17,21)

This is ours, just for the asking.