You Are

No matter

The feelings

You Are

Broken

Battered

Shattered

Bruised

Broken, ill-used

Still

You are

Your constancy

Astounds me

Bewilders me

Yet somehow

I find healing

A way to carry on

Feelings ebb and flow

Come and go

Love, pain, anguish, woe

Up and down they go

Yet still You Are

When praise is far

Thanksgiving all that can be managed

I look at You

You look at me

As no matter what and who I am

You Are

As you have always been

The answer

To unsaid words

And prayers

Unshaped by a voice

Uttered in silence

By a human heart

Questions, longing, find their peace

In the knowledge

That You are

O come, light of the world

Shine forth now in my heart

Soothe the restless soul

Bid sorrow now depart

Oh Lord, Light of the World

Christ risen on high

The wounds shining forth in rays

Puts evil men to flight

Oh Lord, love divine

Majesty incarnate

The wounds newly shine

O come and touch the world

Battered, broken, so afraid

Come touch the hearts you made

To love the divine

Bread, wine,

Body, blood

Given freely

To wash

The leper clean

Cleanse our sin

Heal our wounds

And turn our gaze

To the Ancient of Days

Remind us once again

These scared angry ones

Are your children

And pain is not their destiny

We were made to love

And be loved

The shadow of sin

Pain and anguish

Dull the glory

Contained within

O come, rescue these hearts

Daunted and afraid

The hearts that you made

Heal the stone

And soothe the angry flesh

Let us feel your touch again

Remind us we are yours

And hope endures

When you are found

For grace

abounds in You

Give Me Rest

Give me rest Lord,

At the end of my labours

Give me hope, Lord

At the ending of the day

Give me wisdom

When I don’t know what to do

Give me peace

In the darkness of the night

When in the early morning

I worry, tossing and turning

Full of anxiety and dread

Whisper into my restless heart

My child, be at rest

For what will all your worry do

It can’t add to your life’s span

It only steals your tomorrow

As you fear for today

Put the future in my hands

Let it come as it will

The past is already written

And today has its fill

Of care

Bid me lay my burden

Let my wearied soul

See the beauty of thy presence

And take its much desired rest

In You

The day dawns, and I awake

The journey begins anew

Where I am going

I really have no clue

I look around me

At the world I now see

What a creation

Beauty is all I see

I get lost, lose my way

The trees so majestic

Now crowd my path

The rain starts falling

And the storm

Engulfs me

Where is the sun

I cry

By and by

It appears

And my fears

Take flight once more

I will never know

The way

Till I reach the end

Of the journey

My companion

Heavenly guide

At my side

Reassures me all will be well

For at journey’s end

The companion, friend

Will lead me

Home

In the distance comes the cry

Known by millions

Over the years

With hearts filled with tears

“Why have you forsaken me?”

In the space of broken homes

The echoes resound

“Why have you forsaken me”

Victims of war

Innocent and shattered

Broken and battered

Their cry resounds

“Why have you forsaken me”

Those with not enough to eat

Or drink

While others feast

“Why have you forsaken me?”

Golgotha’s cry

Still resounds

You hear the sound

Reverberate

“Why have you forsaken me?”

Go to the hill

If you will

Offer the heart

Broken, bruised

Battered, ill-used

Scars both seen and unseen

And listening

You will hear

“I have never forgotten

Never forsaken

Never stopped loving

For love is who I am

And I am your Father, your brother

Your God”