Reflection in the lake
Makes me ache
For the beauty of the other world
I know is there
There are reflections of that world
Everywhere
But
The noise of the city
Can drown it out
The hyper-speed
Of our wired heart beats
Can skip us right past the beauty
Laid out for us
Like a table set for a banquet to begin
All that is needed
Are for the guests to arrive
And begin the feast
© 2011 Julie Clark
It is dark and gloomy outside,
And inside for some of us.
This is my third Christmas back,
And I think I am finally getting it, about all the Christmas lights.
We need light!
We crave light!
It reminds us that there is hope,
That we will not be consumed.
It is our stand against this encroaching darkness.
Yet, somehow this darkness is our teacher.
Slow down, relax, build a fire, eat some soup, sleep,
Give way to this season of life.
Waiting is not giving up, it is an inside growing and maturing.
It is where hope gives birth to faith.
I am reminded of another search for light.
It’s about a people walking in darkness who saw a great light.
It’s about a star pointing the way on a very dark night in a very dark time.
This light is still shining and making a home in us,
Until, we are a City on a Hill,
Shining brightly and giving light for all to see.
I am also reminded to look for the light in others.
It is there!
We are all image bearers of God.
We all have light sides and dark sides.
Can we search, as in a treasure hunt, for the diamonds in others?
When all around is so dark,
It is time to shine for others who are struggling in their battles with the darkness.
It is time to lend a little more light to them.
Use our good deeds: our hands, our feet, our ears,
Our words of encouragement, and even our money.
Whichever way we shine the best.
© 2011 Julie Clark
The last of the plum-tree leaves
Are stubbornly hanging on
They have been through storms of rain
And shaking wind
As the darkness keeps growing
Encasing us on both sides of the day
Their fallen comrades have been raked
Piled and composted several times now
Storm drains cleared again and again
Keeping a lake from forming in the middle of our street
When will these last holdouts succumb
To the pull of gravity and their fate?
What still clings to me, dead and dying?
What still needs to go of my negative attitudes and unbelief?
Impatience and arrogance
O Wind shake them off!
What about doubt and despair?
Yes, please come and blow them away too!
Something in me wants to hibernate for a while
I am ready to
Let the outer bareness take over
And surrender
To an inner working
Where strength slowly gathers
Like sap in the inner core
Eventually after a long winter’s rest
To give way to new life and being
But not just yet
Let the rain, darkness and wind come!
Shake me once again
Until all has fallen that needs to fall
For this season I now embrace
© 2011 Julie Clark
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