Poem

I found this poem today in a magazine, and wanted to share it with you.

Wait
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers. I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming Your word.

"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and You tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking; and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine...
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still...Wait."

4th Picture Blogger Tag

Rose tagged me - so here goes....here are the rules...

1.
Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2.
Select the 4th picture in the folder, insert it into a post.
3.
Explain the picture.
4.
Tag 4 people to do the same.
5.
NO CHEATING (cropping, editing, etc.)



This was on our first anniversary weekend at Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells, WI... not a great picture, because I don't think either of us is actually in it. But it shows the indoor waterpark.

Ok, I tag Kimberly, Mandy, Sunny, and Sarah.

Baby Jesus

Joshua played Baby Jesus in a Christmas program today. He was perfect, of course. I got to play his mama, Mary. Chris did not play Joseph...in fact, 2 different guys did. They were both great, but, of course, not being Josh's father, didn't interact with him much. And it got me thinking....

God asked a lot of Mary, didn't he? What he asked of her required a lot of faith, trust, and blind obedience. But maybe he asked more of Joseph. Yes, they both faced ridicule, the shame of a child out of wedlock. They likely faced disbelief from their friends and families when they tried to explain the miracle. Joseph was there through the journey to Bethlehem, and the subsequent birth, influx of visitors, and the flight to Egypt. So what?

Well, think about it this way. As I was sitting with my son today, with him in the manger, pointing out the shepherds and kings who were bringing gifts, "Joseph" wasn't doing much. But then he wouldn't have, would he? Moms did most of the caring with babies...there wasn't much for dads to do, especially back then.

But once the baby was weaned, the mother's job was done. So what was the father's task then? To train his son as apprentice, teach him the Scriptures, and find him a wife...

Jesus spent several years with his mother as a very young child, but he reached a certain age where his earthly father took over the lion's share of his upbringing. What an enormous responsibility laid on Joseph. He had not only carried his family through shame, danger, hardship, and being away from family, he now had to train up the very Son of God.

I find it amazing that God entrusted ordinary humans with this job. If He could trust them to raise His Son, what is He looking to trust us with? Are our minds and hands open to accept his task?

Pics

Rose asked for more pictures....happy to oblige...