Showing posts with label Homelessness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homelessness. Show all posts

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Crook of Joy


Making muffins...simple joy!


Sometimes, out of the blue, a wave of sympathy rolls through me 
as I wave at grandchildren leaving,
 or as son comes home for visit and fridge-forage, 
or as the word 'home' slips from my lips without second thought, 
until suddenly I am smitten with utter grief 
for the millions of refugees who had to flee their home-sweet-homes...

Sometimes then, the Simple Sacred steals my breath
with a fresh and humble thankfulness
for the beauty of our beloved crook of joy...home!
Yes, with all of love's foibles and flaws, home, sweet home!!

Enjoying the final bowl full of 
plush, pink peony-pom-poms for this year!



Where child and garden flourishes in fleet simplicity
Where more than supper nourishes its precious company
Where comforts are not fancy but are priceless, nonetheless
And nothing on earth quite compares to its fair happiness

Where flower bouquets bring beauty to duty’s dear mundane
Where nobody outgrows the open arms of its domain
Where heartaches are confided, where we learn to give and take
Where tasks are oft divided but then, so is tea and cake

Where wonderful aromas waft through open kitchen door
And suddenly our burdens weigh less than they had before
Where the brunt of life's blessings overflows our tender hearts
With thankfulness for home sweet home and all that it imparts

Where prayers and cares soft-mingle in medleys of smiles and tears
Where summer always flies too fast into Past’s cast of years
Where patience is a virtue of great benefit and cheer
To safeguard joy and peace while youngsters learn to persevere

Where we are always welcome to forage the cookie jar
Or fridge or pantry no matter how older-now we are
Where no matter the weather or how far away we roam
No place on earth is better than the berth of home-sweet-home

Oh Lord, we grieve for those whose homes they had to swiftly flee
And leave behind rooms filled with mementos of family
How oft we mourn the war-torn town and countryside bereft
Of happiness of home sweet home and only rubble left

Then, we with meeker labor, repent of some selfish ploy
And become humbly gladder for our home-sweet crook of joy
Where there is nothing commonplace about its grace of chores
Or laughter round its tables or mothers waving from doors


© Janet Martin

So what's today's 'grace of chores'? 
Weeding!
The rain makes everything grow!





Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, 
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

(distracting baby with a coffee-tin drum
because he wanted to mix muffins too!!)😂💗



Monday, January 30, 2012

The Coldest Cold

They use words like ‘family’ and ‘home’
He blows on his cold coffee, blinking hard
And pretends he is not listening
While the hollowness expands in his soul

Laughing, they gather mittens and scarves
Chatting incessantly through lingered farewells
Of ‘see you soon’ and words like ‘friend’
He has never known their warmth nor they his depth of bitter cold

His cold cannot be soothed by mittens or scarves
Even the box that he calls home is warm
In comparison to the chilling agony in his soul
As an eternal echo weeps alone, alone, alone

Oh, he’s known a family of sorts, gathered around
The warming stove of an old rubbish bin 
But its members come and go, or die
And they all suffer the plight of an unbearable chill

Once a passing gentleman yelled ‘God loves you, son’
Tossed him a coin and patted himself on the back
Returning to the comfort of home-fires, behind closed doors
While outside the chill grew deeper, freezing the tears in his soul

Janet~