Category: season

Poem: A Piece of Imaginative Writing in Verse

 
When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mount Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos,
to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
crash and crush me.

Then God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God’s prayer.
 

(Psalm 42:6-8 The Message)

Psalms and poems,
April showers and May flowers
That is what Spring is made of.

The poetic language of the Psalms express my heart, as my joy ebbs and flows with the sunshine and clouds of Spring. To celebrate and contemplate this season of joy, my heart is drawn to poetry and to flowers. Poetry is celebrated this month, so I thought I’d join the festivities by posting some poem/prayers of my own, some from others and some from God’s word.

Flowers are the iconic representation of Spring, and with my new access to varieties unlimited through the Missouri Botanical Gardens, I will have photos to share. Last week, I went with my sister and the nieces and nephews. We were able to enjoy the superb display of orchids.

I plan to highlight guest poems on Thursdays, so if you have a poem you’d like me to post or link up here, please send me an e-mail with your poem or link at kelrohlf@gmail.com

Without further ado, here are some flowers and  a poem.

cloudless blue (Kel Rohlf)

 

cloudless blue raked by bare branches

redbud blossoms soften the view
warmth of spring swishes past
with just a hint of winter chill

man made droning behind the scene

breaks in upon this dream
echoing a great stream rushing
behind the woodland screen

senses drop to the underbrush

greening, growing unseen life
lush
underneath the winter gloom

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Season of Joy

 
He grants the desires of those who fear him;
He hears their cries for help
and rescues them.
(Psalm 145:19 NLT)
 
 
 
 
On Easter Sunday, we gathered around my mom’s picnic table feasting on the spread placed before us. Afterwards, I gave the nieces and nephews tote bags for them to keep their jammies and bedtime books safe and in one place. Patrick proclaimed himself a hobo, and the three little ones paraded around the yard with their “hobo” bags. I don’t remember telling them about my hobo honeymoon Lenten journey, but it made me smile that they wanted to be hobos.
 
Then Loryn, the youngest, surprised me with a presentation and a gift she made for me. She ran in the house and came back with her hands behind her back. She said something like:
 
First: I love you. Second: You’re the best aunt and so are all my other aunts. Third: This is a gift for Easter.
 
She handed me a scrap of notebook paper with words scrawled in her own hand, with one correction made by her mom.
 
I read it out loud to all present, and barely could keep from choking back tears as God loved me in words from the pen of a child. (I was touched by her desire to record her worship experience with pen and paper.)
 
 
 
 
She wrote:
 
Today I am going to church.
Day 1: Alive  
God is always with you.
You can hare (hear) God.
God loves you.
God is always in your hearts.
 
As I read the sentence, “You can hare (hear) God,” it pierced my heart, because earlier that morning I was doubting my ability to hear. Later my sister told me that was the exact question she and Loryn were discussing at church. Loryn knew God heard her, but she wondered if we could hear God. Her mom assured her that we can hear God, so Loryn wrote it down, affirming her new found truth.
 
The other message that seemed directed to my heart was; “Day 1: Alive.” After these past forty days of observing the fast of Lent, I sensed that in her simple way of keeping track of the first day in her journal and the title of the sermon, she hit on another truth. Easter Sunday is Day 1. We can keep counting on the aliveness of Jesus each day. Alleluia!
 
 
Day 2: Alive! Jesus lives and I am glad to be alive!
 
And for those following the church calendar, I was pleased to be reminded that Easter is a season, not just one Sunday. I look forward to the continued feasting which lasts fifty days, until Pentecost. Grace, grace, God’s grace!
 
 
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Like a Tree

 
Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.

But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.

They are like trees planted
along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
(Psalm 1:1-3 NLT)
 
 
 
The above picture was taken last week in Phoenix, AZ. It was a delight to see oranges growing in season along the streets. I wasn’t expecting to see fruit in winter. Seeing the oranges made me think of how spiritual fruit might come to maturity, even in the winter.
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