The last years I didn't have so much time anymore. But in the past I liked to write poems. Below are two of them. Above the poems is a Bibleverse, above the second one it is a short quote from the book Isaiah. It is in the Old Testament in the Bible. Recently I added a new one below. That one is a simpler English version of an earlier poem of mine. English is not my first language, this means that for me it's harder to write a full rhyming poem in English than in Dutch. I'm sorry if you find a mistake here and there.
Love and faith
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 1 Timothy 6:6-7 (ESV)
Love and faith is what this poem is about,
the words leave none of them out.
With making money they have nothing to do.
They don't count pennies, not even two.
For riches lead from true happiness away.
Seeking that brings people astray.
This disadvantage love and faith have not,
But they bring appreciation to the spot.
Where love is, there is faith close by.
Feelings may disappear, but faith remains nearby.
Sometimes life's circumstances make us stressed,
and bad thoughts may become manifest.
Don't we know how to show love anymore?
Then faith can bring us back to shore.
Love frees people from the debts as they are waiting for,
She will never perish, but remains forevermore.
Waiting for God
For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,
"In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."
But you were unwilling, and you said,
"No! We will flee upon horses";
therefore you shall flee away;
and, "We will ride upon swift steeds";
therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
- Isaiah 30:15-18 (ESV)
How long, will I sit here being depressed?
How long, will I keep being stressed?
Day after day I can hear people's thoughts:
"This road will not lead him to the right spots.
In this case, his hope in God is not good.
How long will it take before he learns how he should?"
When they talked about this, I remained quiet,
hoping that as time passes, fulfillment comes nearby it.
At nighttime my thoughts become irritating.
"It's just no use to keep on waiting."
Lord our God, it seems that I'm in the desert.
You, o Lord, still are our shepherd.
The hurt in my mind I like to do without.
Would there be another way out?
Of that other way out, no one has heard,
furthermore You remain faithful to your word.
The future looks to be shrouded in a fog,
but patience comes before the epilogue.
In affliction a soft sound may be heard in the night.
knowing that staying grateful is still within our might.
In God's love we may peacefully lie down and fall asleep,
even if life's uncertainty walks around like the sheep.
As in vain the waiting may seem to be,
we can be certain that God heeds our emergency.
In You, my Lord, I got away from the unrest,
there's peace despite past feelings of being oppressed.
What remains is to put my trust in You.
For building our life on You, that we should do.
Once I have asked "why" because of the wait,
but this question will no more be my mate.
Lord our God, you are holy, awesome and just.
My future is safe with You, therefore I trust.
The lost Christmas chocolates
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
- Luke 19:10 (ESV)
It was somewhere in the village, the rubbish bin.
People brought garbage there, it seemed no sin.
There it was laying filled with dirt,
little Christmas chocolates, broken and hurt.
The garbage collectors would come soon.
They would be gone before the end of the afternoon.
But then a man picked them up.
He took them and washed them in a cup.
Why did he care for the dirty chocolate?
Why did he clean it and not buy new ones on the market?
Well you see, his father owned the chocolate factory.
And because of this, he loved the products dearly.
Should we not do the same while counting the cost?
Maybe we can find broken people and reach out to the lost.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.