MARANATHA *

 

MARANATHA

Look-- can you see Jesus coming
That glint of glory, just over there--
A little light a-flickering
Upon that heavenly stair--

There is light beyond the river,
Past the torrents deep and wide--
The Word of life that beckons
To the eternal, golden side.

My heart, it trembles at this gift
Grace carries me, and holds
And there, my life is hidden
And the Father's eye beholds.

Regard the Word with startled breath
O soul once lost, and wrapped in death;
Overspilled with light-- his love abounds
And the heavenlies resound.


~Abby Elizabeth Charland

FEATHER *

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
                                                                                                --Psalm 23:4

Far am I-- far am I--
Caught in this tangled, tilted night--
Not a one can answer me
My heart is carried, how?

There, there, little one, alone
Born in fragile, hollow bones;
That beaten heart-- calls desperately:
(The soul seeks flight and song.)

Fallen child with splintered eyes
Weeping as the world spins by.
So far am I, forgive me:
Your Kingdom veiled-- so verdantly.

So what of these-- dream, love, world--
Every effort fails, unfurled
But Heaven, still, I long to know
(Yet the place where martyrs go.)

Oh, far am I, far am I--
Whispers, sometimes screams fall by
Kaleidoscopes that twist the sky--
A dying world's delusive sigh.

Then this entrust to Heaven's wing--
The faltered heartbeat, fluttering.
From span to span-- uplifted, so--
Bottled tears-- repentance known.

Of precious hope in Christ, I sing
In tribulations worshiping.
Far was I, yet gathered--
My Savior carries all.



--Abby Elizabeth Charland

THE PATIENCE OF THE SAINTS *

The Earth totters in a pool of stars
in her sparkled slip of sky;
Narrow edges of clouds ignite
As Time hurtles by.

Heavenly Father, we plead thy mercy,
Do not in anger turn away--
From the folly of your people
Proud minds in disarray--

Might strange storms rise up, for warning--
And lightning bend the stubborn knee--
That they might tremble at thy glory---
O let the blinded see!

For men prepare for war, in darkness
And betrayal will adorn chosen souls:
Martyrs, caught-- for glory
For Jesus' sake-- brought low.

The Eternal One, ever watches
And his righteous wrath will fall.
We are strangers here-- and hated;
We are hunted down-- but called--

Ever following the Lord Jesus, ever praising:
His blood-- his tears, bequeathed--
Behold: the startling mercy
That covers, and entreats.

For if in faith there might be sorrow
Let us not dread the task thereof--
The Lord Jesus regards our helpless ache
And lifts us, tenderly-- to love.

                                                                        ~Abby Elizabeth Charland

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Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.


                                              --Psalm 79:9

A corn of wheat - John 12:24

A question for you about a simple Gospel