Sand Testimonials (Psalms and Prayers)

To pause and look back.

These sands broken, imprinted by the progression of a life.

Each mark offering testimony of the pilgrimage. 

A portion formed with deliberate and mindful acts.  Dare I say well-intentioned.

Too many characterized by the careless, thoughtless, and ignorant.

Impressions now filled with the silt of the humdrum.

Others confess to a nature cemented with sting and shame.

The debris inherent of Eden - the footprints resultant the Fall of Man.

 These have been washed away.  

Not by wind and water but by His blood and grace.

For this my gratitude cries.

The trace draws near.  Lone and solitary.

In the singular comes an understanding......I have never been alone.

The track remaining is His as He has always carried me.

My soul sings with joy, Emmanuel! 

 "God with us."

A forebear of eternity next.

To pause and look forward. 

Sands stretch out unblemished, pristine and true.

A harbinger of dwellings as yet unseen.

As the sands gather without number, in kind I discern my days.

Limited in this place, infinite in the hereafter.

Each moment a treasure, each treasure a joy, each joy a gift.

Faith, hope, and love to exercise, for these shall remain.

Still this world is fallen.  Pain and suffering are never distant.

Trials arrive in their time.  Illness and loss will befall me.

Temptations lurk, awaiting the next hour of weakness.

With our Redeemer I kneel, "Deliver me from evil."

Death is a given but only God knows the time, place, and process.

The grip which holds this cold world so tight begins to loosen.

Gently, the warmth of His love lingers.  My hold surrenders to His comfort.

His Spirit, as would the good shepherd, leads my soul home.

I find rest in His arms.

.

July 24, 2011.  Pāpōhaku Beach, Molokai, Hawaii.
Three mile stretch of continuous sand.

Matthew 1:23....Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name                                     Immanuel, which is translated, "God with us."

Matthew 6:13....And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one...