Words

"Jesus draw me ever nearer

As I labour through the storm.

You have called me to this passage,

and I'll follow, though I'm worn.

May this journey bring a blessing,

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

Jesus guide me through the tempest;

Keep my spirit staid and sure.

When the midnight meets the morning,

Let me love You even more.

Let the treasures of the trial 

Form within me as I go - 

And at the end of this long passage,

Let me leave them at Your throne."

-Stephen Hugh Wise

My (former)lecturer posted this on Facebook this morning. I don't know whether he pieced it together himself, or took it from somewhere, but I do believe it's the former. He's one heckuva writer; and he's always on and on about plagiarism when he taught me, and he didn't mention any referencing in that post, so yeah, I think he made it up himself.

Which, of course, is pretty darn awesome. I admire Mr Wise for his depth of knowledge in English; I admire his way of writing which is able to convey the hardest meanings in plain simple words. He is absolutely so darn experienced, I wish I could get to that level too. But English is so hard. It's so difficult. I'm afraid to tread into that field.... will I be able to handle it? 

Can I? The answer lies in that poem above--- look to Jesus. It's always Jesus. The poem is so beautiful.. telling of a journey, of our lives filled with trials, of getting through them with Christ's help, of remaining faithful to the King of Kings. And all that.. in four stanzas. Just four simple plain stanzas. He summed it all up in such a simple package, but its contents are bursting with talent and gift and meaning. It must be God after all. It can only be God who blessed him with the ability to write the way he did, just like He often blesses me with the ability to write the way I do. 

Often, I don't give myself much credit for the way I write, be it in essays or poems, but whenever I think I've done a decently good job, I give all my thanks to the Lord. I mean, all gifts and talents come from him right? I wouldn't have been able to write, or express, if He didn't give me the idea of it in the first place!

I find Mr Wise's poem extremely inspiring. And immensely glowing with beauty within itself, with all the praise that it heaps upon our Lord. 

I'm sure if it warmed my heart so, it must've warmed God's heart ten times more, probably. He must be smiling so much, just reading those four stanzas. It's little of what us humans can offer to Him, but He appreciates it all the same, much more than any other human does or ever will..