Sunlight and Shadows

Finding poetry in star dust, sunbeams, and passing clouds

Category: Faith

  • Faith

    Tell me, is there something out there

    I can find if I keep on?

    Tell me, is all that I worked for

    Still inside or is it gone?

    Tell me, where are all the people

    That I thought were friends of mine?

    Tell me, whether this direction

    Levels out on down the line?

    I can tell you, it’s not easy

    To have faith when you can’t see

    I can tell you all the times we

    Acted on uncertainty

    I can tell you, you may never

    Know why things were like they were

    I can tell you every detour

    Made us press on even more

    Faith is acting, not just hoping

    Things will work out down the road

    Live today with trust and courage

    Worry just weighs down your load

    ,

  • Struggle

    Give us hope in this dark hour

    Give us unity and power

    Give us wisdom day by day

    Give us truth in what we say

    Show us the right way to go

    Show us answers we don’t know

    Show us how to work as one

    Show us peace where there is none

    Lead us toward our earnest goals

    Lead us each to fill our roles

    Lead us in the way to talk

    Lead our ships safely to dock

    Save us from the storms outside

    Save us from our pasts, our pride

    Save us when we trip and fall

    Save us when we hit the wall

    ,

  • Life

    The letter I wrote to a world that didn’t write back

    The light I found that only led me to a crack

    The call I made to a phone that was off the hook

    The dreams I dreamed that only happen in a book

    A stormy life of springtime joys and winter pain

    A treacherous life of highs to fall back down again

    A hard life that takes great faith to believe

    A weary life of small victories you achieve

    Broken tears of soul-searching depths of pain

    Bitter tears of disappointment, let down again

    Shameful tears of empty hope you once believed

    Weary tears of painstaking, tenuous gains achieved

    Treasure this great, fragile life that is ours

    For only in darkness can you see the stars

    ,

  • Paths to Keep

    The woods are dark and lone and deep

    The path so long that we must keep

    The tangled vines weave webs below

    The thorny stems and branches grow

    The thickets shut out light up high

    The ravens in the distance cry

    The darkness grows at every turn

    The vining leaves with poison burn

    The only choice is forward go

    Through woods so deep and dark and low

    The woods are not so dark and deep

    If only to the path we keep

    The vines protect the earth below

    Berries and fruits on branches grow

    Our eyes adjust to light up high

    Our ears hear ravens call not cry

    Our courage grows with every turn

    And in the distance now lights burn

    Because we chose to forward go

    Through woods so deep and dark and low

    ,

  • Promise

    Rock, road, yours alone

    Up against the wall

    Hard place, go through it

    Never stop on your dreams

    The hand that opens doors

    Your eyes, when I fly

    Truth, lost, more to say

    So dark can’t shine, be found

    Shadows only reflect the sun

    Open up to the light

    Quietly waiting to grow

    Promise alight, new dawn

    ,

  • Small Victories

    Not all races that you win

    Have cheers and fanfare at the end

    Not all mountaintops you climb

    Will immortalize you in time

    Not all planes you learn to fly

    Can write your name across the sky

    Not all stories that you write

    Will be best sellers overnight

    For sometimes you’re the only one

    Who knew the race had to be run

    And it looked easy to the top

    To those who couldn’t see the drop

    Some planes weren’t even built til you

    Had to construct them while you flew

    And sometimes stories must be told

    Of life on the less traveled road

    So climb your mountain, run your race

    Don’t worry over time or place

    For each small victory’s one more stone

    To build a life you call your own

    ,