Hourglass

That old clock's ticking like it's the last day of the world.

That captain's wheel spinning, hands a blur.

Our roads spiral quickly together,

Soon to join forever

As one.

Smiles spread and grins grow.

A little life multiplies into new joy and hope.

Before we know it, saplings of bright green jump and thrive

Then midnight strikes and the pillows meet our old, accomplished eyes

Spring Faith

Aye, this be a new chapter. God has written a suspenseful one, but I believe it’s coming to an end. Very old junk, old hurts, present exposure, present pain, new healing, new life! The previous chapter was one of colorful adventure in Vancouver, in Thailand and Malaysia with new friends from around the world, and in a beautiful community fighting to grow closer to God. But it ended 7 weeks ago in Alberta with a gray-scale Tuesday morning conversation that I’ll never forget.


The cat was out of the bag and the closet opened and contents spilled out. I was in trouble for mistakes I had made nearly a year before. That day saw some light though: I vowed to make things right and Jesus was in front of me – the beacon of reconciliation to lead the way. Emotions came and went: shame and confusion, then anger, then eventually and God-willing, compassion; to step out of my shoes and into another’s. I finally sensed some of the trouble I caused and squirmed uneasily. Then the good news set in, “This can be restored.” Really, truly made right.


It’s been a great story, if I may say so. The enemy, the antagonist, wasn’t clear for a time. At first I thought it was the then-revealed victim. Of course I discovered the enemy is rarely the person who’s hurt. The enemy is instead the one that silences the promise of healing. And his destiny is set, isn’t it?


I had a mediator – a godly man to help me; to defend me but also to make me see the wholeness of what I’d done, mixed with the destruction wrought by another who does not come into this tale… a child whose actions were never reckoned for. So I was not wholly to blame, but some blame was mine, and it is the role of a friend to reveal that if need be.


The River Time coursed by… it was mostly frozen at first, advancing at an agonizingly slow pace. But it picked up, thawed by the great Sun, by breaths of the great Creator who wished to test my patience and my integrity.


I ran the course with bow set stubbornly straight. Indeed, I may have never been so set in my ways as I was these last couple months; set on making things right, on seeing this through. As a character learns his strengths and weaknesses, I have learned and admit proudly that I am a Carer. Though clinging to selfishness at times, I have been endowed with a capacity to care. I am a cacophony of selfishness and selflessness, but inevitably, with enough time spent with Jesus, the melodies of love and peace and patience will ever carry on and away and drown out the harsh discords of self-demand. There was a lovely harbor I regrettably stole from in my youth. But I sailed my ship back there and mended what I could. Recovery will take time but I believe I’ve done my part for now. The rest, thankfully, is up to the Shipwright and the Repairman, the God of the land and the sea.


And the page turns as a large hand titles a new chapter, "Spring Faith."