Let the Tender Hands

Darkness.

Hurt.

Pain.

Some will be forgotten

Some will be buried,

Buried down in the cavern of the soul

They seem lost somewhere down there

As if they will never see the light of day

Where they will fester

And pester the soul

And eat a hole

Right to the core

Now laid bare

For a soul to come and care

 

So along comes a lion,

A wolf in sheep’s clothing

Preaching hope and freedom

From the pain piled deep down inside

He plants a thought

Mistaking gashes for mending

And fancying a blade

As the aid,

The tool of his healing

 

I bought this thought

For freedom is what I sought

To carry me away

From the burden I carry

I grabbed the blade

By now the damage has been done

The marks do not fade

It’s hard to look away

 

Back comes the lion

Now taunting his prey

Who bought his hope

And his lies

Now they just fade to

Fear.

Guilt.

Shame.

 

A voice calls out

“Where are you going?”

“I’m hiding

For I am afraid of what you may say

Just look at my scars

Oh, how I stained your masterpiece.”

 

“Who told you that?

Child of mine, I see no stain

I still see my masterpiece

Whom I breathed into life.”

 

“But I lost

The crafty one has won,

Just look what I have done!”

 

“Don’t you see

That from his mouth

Comes the words of judgment

Whose chains were broken long ago

He did not win because you are in need of grace

I have won,

For by grace I made the way.”

 

“Won’t others see my scars?”

 

“They may, but I don’t.”

 

“Won’t they see me differently?”

 

“They may, but I don’t.”

 

“Have you heard my mouth and what it has said?

Have you seen my eyes and what they have seen?

Have you seen my hands and what they have done?

If you did you wouldn’t want this soul!”

 

“I love you,

Don’t ever forget this

I love you,

Scars and all.”

 

“You may, but I can’t.”

 

We all find ourselves with scars of our own

Some large

Some small

Some out in the open

And still some hidden far from the light

 

We run, run, and run some more

To go far away from the pain we bear

But farther down this hole we go

There, guilt and shame will swallow us whole

 

Turn and open up those wounds

To let the light of grace come in

As the arms of hope wrap around

Let the tender hands cleanse you now

And hold you now,

And forevermore.

What If

A world of broken dreams

And hopeful ones

Of a road long gone

Or a brighter future

A sorrow filled sigh

Or a joyful thought

A trap from the past

Or a place of broken shackles

 

Worlds are created

In this fictional space

We regret

We dream

And we wonder

A world painted in bright colors

Or permanent blots

Marking our every move

 

What if

Two simple words

Yet two sharp edges

 

What if I had just said hello

What if I had just said no

What if I had just walked away sooner

What if I had just taken that chance

 

What if I stopped the second guessing

What if I stopped this charade

Because the regret of yesterday

Saps the joy from tomorrow

 

And you know what?

What if the best is yet to come.

What If

A world of broken dreams

And hopeful ones

Of a road long gone

Or a brighter future

A sorrow filled sigh

Or a joyful thought

A trap from the past

Or a place of broken shackles

Worlds are created

In this fictional space

We regret

We dream

And we wonder

A world painted in bright colors

Or permanent blots

Marking our every move

What if

Two simple words

Yet two sharp edges

What if I had just said hello

What if I had just said no

What if I had just walked away sooner

What if I had just taken that chance

What if I stopped the second guessing

What if I stopped this charade

Because the regret of yesterday

Saps the joy from tomorrow

And you know what?

What if the best is yet to come.

The Martian Letter

Dear Friend,

You see blue,
I see hues,
Or maybe other colors too
You see black
And you see white,
And I just see the grey in between
Some say there’s only one color there
That no other ones can compare
Yet I don’t see it
I don’t see the world through the eyes of beings
Why do I think the way I do?
I don’t know
Its not a switch
To be flipped on and off
Others see it as a curse
To be rid of in certain moments
Yet I see it as something to be harnessed
And used for greatness

I see five moves ahead
On the chess board right in front
Yet others demand I play on a checkers board

I’m not like you
I’m not like others
What is wrong with me
Am I even human?
I try and try
To find where I went off the path
Where I strayed from that of others

When God tells others to be still,
Im called to get up and run
When he calls you to run,
He’s beckoning me to sit still
You meet Him by his rushing presence
I see Him in an intellectual wrestle

I’m a martian
From somewhere other than here
And that’s okay with me
I’m goofy
I’m weird
I don’t fit in
I don’t make sense
SO WHAT
I’m not meant to fit inside someone else’s mold
And neither do you

Why do we say different is bad?
Differences bring out the unique
No one person is the norm
Instead they are a unique of their own

Box me in at your own risk
I won’t fit
We are more than mere copies,
Of other human beings
Just pressed into the same mold

My mold was thrown out
And so was yours
I don’t fit yours and you don’t fit mine
And no one will

Others may call me a freak
Or weird
You know what,
I may very well be
But what you see as a freak and weird
Is seen as a jewel by its Creator
He formed me this way
And has placed the value on that
For which only he can decide

You can’t determine my value
I didn’t give you that power
Or that right
Only my creator knows my worth
And who I really am
My ins and outs
He knows what goes on in the jungle that is my head

So why do you give others the power to decide what you are worth,
Who you should be
Or what your limits are

The one who pushes the sun down and pulls it back up
The one who set the limits of the sky
The boundaries of existence
He knows who you are
And what you can be
What you can do

To Him I give the power
To decide my fate
And my worth

And you know what
He’s already decided our value
Once and for all
Prized and treasured
So why do we keep acting as if it has changed

Put down the mirror
For it will always win
It cries out you don’t compare
And your value has changed

My face is too ugly
My muscles are too small
My breasts are too big
Or maybe to small
My nose is goofy
And I weigh too much
I wish I was like…
And on and on it goes
Until it finds every last thing that says you don’t measure up
These thoughts will never end
As long as we are the gauge

His love is never ending
His grace is never changing

The Creator decides the value of creation
Quit giving that power to creation itself
You are more than they will ever say
You are complete as is

Signed,
By a fellow Martian