Muster up your strength
gather your wits
grab a bike
hop a bus
catch the ferry
book a flight
or just put on
your shoes
follow the signs
and get out-of-town
It’ll do you a world of good
to slow down
change your point of view
breathe some fresh air
hear the wind in the trees
or the call of the gulls
Stop, look, and listen
for signs and messages
take beauty personally
this is for me
I too am beloved
© 2015 Julie Clark
God uses the fodder
of our everyday lives
to fuel the flame
of His passionate
Refining
Transforming fire.
The result:
unimaginable beauty,
pure gold.
In my mind I saw
the potter’s wheel spinning
the wet clay without the potter’s hand
flew off the wheel in every direction
I was thinking about marriage
then I saw strong hands
center the clay
shape it into
a useful piece of pottery
what if in marriage like clay
we are molded and kneaded together between
the strong potter’s hands
gently put on the wheel
we let his hands center us
as the wheel spun on
we allowed him to form us
the way our clay would go
shape us into a vessel
extravagantly glazed with his beauty
through the fire we hold together
able to carry
living water
to a thirsty world
© 2013 Julie Clark
Awake my soul to this new day
Don’t miss the adventure of your journey
There are connections of beauty and color
Weaving and waiting to be made
Keep my eyes open
My spirit listening
I won’t ignore the nudge or the whisper
Directing my path
To see the glory in another
To listen and to learn
To give the gift I have been given
And receive the one offered to me
There are just times
When beauty is not in full display
But only to be seen when hunted for
Showing through the cracks
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
Don’t I have some of those places in me?
All churned up
Weak and weary spots
Chinks in my armor
Where worry and fear
Anger and pride
Stand guard
The water
Constantly battering those places
Wearing away the defenses
Caving in the walls
Churning up the deadly waters
It is a spectacular sight, really
A beauty to behold
The power of the water is astonishing
Maybe the water is not the enemy
Maybe it is the artist’s paint brush
Turning ashes into beauty
Suffering can do that
Building our character
Making us stronger
Would that my caved in walls
Hold more living water
And be a beauty to behold
A masterpiece
Where the artist’s
Passion is displayed
© 2011 Julie Clark
Receiving not grasping
Thanking not demanding
When I do this
It changes my heart
From self-centered, woe is me, how hard is my life stone
To warm
Glad to be alive
Gratefulness
For all I have
The beauty that surrounds me
(When I open my eyes fully to see it)
For those I love and who love me
Making room for more love and more gratitude
When I cannot be grateful for something directly
Because it is too painful and I can’t see its purpose
I can move around it being thankful for what I can see
And in the meantime my heart will expand to include more
And perhaps gratefulness for the good will dislodge the bitter weight of the evil.
It is more than looking at the world through a glass half full
What about thankfulness that the glass is half empty
There is room for more to come into that half empty glass
More opportunity to grow and to receive
Unfinished and limited am I
Yet still alive, ever-changing and growing
Ingratitude limits and restricts
Making the world smaller and harder
Pulling down into a spiraling vortex
Seeing without hope is a kind of not seeing
I will take rather the wings offered
To soar above
With the eagles
© 2011 Julie Clark
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