Saturday, March 5, 2022

Beholding Beauty (or its Prelude)

I originally entitled this poem
This Broken World Could Drown Joy
then, just after posting it something like a bud
broke inside of me
resulting in adding the photo below,
another verse as the ending
and changing the title.


The beautiful words of this hymn are so fitting for the days we are in


Sometimes I struggle with a sense of insecurity
(no longer guilt, because I have committed to embracing my calling)
but still, in a world war-ravaged and hurting...Poetry?!!
Yes, by the grace of God, yes!
Because worship is beautiful 
and timely, always!
And Poetry is the culmination of
beauty and worship
when pursued with passion to
glorify its Giver!

"This is the law of being
That links the threefold chain:
The life we give to beauty
Returns to us again."

by Bliss Carmen



Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Psalm 32:10-11

This broken world could drown joy
Beneath dread’s sullen wave
Despair could be an envoy
That bears us to the grave

Beauty could go unheeded
Beneath brute, crushing blows
And worship’s fount depleted
By glaring needs and woes

We could fall prey to reasons
To hate rather than love
And stumble/grumble through time’s seasons
Without ever enough

But beauty is not cheated
By evil’s intercourse
And joy is undefeated
If we have found its Source

That nothing overthrows
The thorns that pierced our Saviour
Bloom with redemption’s rose

This world would turn us dour
And drown all hope of joy
If it could overpower
What nothing can destroy

It cannot bring forth fruit’
Praise God, joy is the token
As faith and love take root

After the darkness, morning
After bud-breakers part
Joy beholds God adorning
The thorn-scars of the heart


© Janet Martin

Brenda's post 
helped me corral today's thoughts into poem.
And caused me to open my book
Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson

To God be all the glory!

Below are a few excerpts  from Adorning the Dark
that spoke to me personally...





7 comments:

  1. I love your post, Janet, and thank you for the nod to my own recent post. We've probably underlined some of the same lines from Andrew's book. I have found his writing encouraging and inspiring. Love these opening words: "...committed to embracing my calling) but still, in a world war-ravaged and hurting...Poetry?!! Yes, by the grace of God, yes!"

    Yes, by the grace of God, we carry on doing what we know to do. Being lights in a dark world.

    Wishing you a beautiful weekend,
    Brenda xo

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  2. p.s. I must confess I made a rather scribbled mess out of that book;-))

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    Replies
    1. Haha... I love scribbled messes in books that have been meaningful to me.

      I underline, pencil stuff in margins, star, and double underline in different colours. I love to reread books that are well marked. It becomes a journal of sorts then, don't you think? The author's thoughts and our own thoughts, mingling into something fresh. I often go back to those marked up pages and let the words stir me up all over again.

      By the way, I was going to say, since we chatted earlier, I've been dipping into Andrew's book this morning. I got caught on p. 44, starting at the top when he refers to Steven Pressfield... about the very real resistance in the world to creativity and how we must ever push against that in our own creative work. When I feel it's too hard, I remind myself, that it's okay, the world is upside down, things don't come easy. I am buoyed by that, knowing we all experience it, it's not just me.

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    2. Oh Brenda!! Yes. Yes. to all. the. above. I looked up pg. 44. Oh. so true!! Now I need to find a highlighter ;-) I'm always just a teeny bit let down when I read a book that never needed a highlighter lol! Highlighted volumes are my go to when I'm not sure what I feel like reading.

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    3. Oh yes, those are the tried and true books perfect when we aren't sure what we feel like reading! I never thought about being just a teeny bit let down having a book that didn't need a highlighter, but it's true, I have felt that way with some books. Oh well, not everything is our cup of tea, as the old saying goes. :)

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    4. Dear Brenda. so true! and you just made me realize, how would we recognize favourites?!!

      hope you have a lovely, literature-lovely weekend!
      Thank-you for enriching mine.

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I hope you enjoyed your pause on this porch and thank-you for your visit!