Here I am,
Your poor one,
Your lowly one,
Your empty one,
Kneeling in adoration..
You spread out Space and Time,
Knowing You would call me forth.
And then You did.
You called to me,
Forming me from the Earth,
You Who played among the Pleides,
Stooped to play with me.
You kissed me,
With the Breath of Your Mouth,
You filled me,
Shaping me,
Empowering me,
Placing in me a formless hope.
Hope grew with the babe,
And sought with fingers of my senses.
Peeling back the covering of Mystery,
Revealing treasures hidden in the earth,
And dancing in the heavens,
Witnessed with wonder in the Night,
The Universe invited me to You,
To join You in the dance,
For which all Time and Space,
All days and all nights,
All mystery had poured forth,
With Your Cry for Light.
Your Heartbeat created the rhythms of the constellations,
The ebb and flow of cosmic seas.
Your Heart beat for Your dream of Man,
Your dream of me.
You, given as gift,
Hidden from blind eyes,
Hidden among the stars,
Spreading across Your Time,
Filling all Your Majestic Space,
Slowly whispering Your secrets,
And revealing truths,
Revealed Ultimate Truth.
You in Your Way spoke to me.
There was more than matter wrapped in my being.
Secreted without shape,
Without form,
Without stuff,
With only the power to will,
And, thereby, to Love,
To know,
And, thereby, to seek and search,
That, in living, I might come to discover You,
With me, beside me and all around me,
Waiting for me to love You.
You, Who always knew me,
And loved me,
In my ignorance,
In my blindness
And in my very being,
Even while Sin entered in to obscure Your work,
And the wonder of me,
Graced me with a soul.
I didn’t know You.
I couldn’t see You.
I didn’t know to seek after You.
Until I saw You hanging there,
Crossing the abyss,
Above the world,
Suspended and told throughout Time,
Now, at long last, I pray,
And gasp for You, my Breath.
You are the shape of me,
Saved for an eternity
Beyond gaseous matter,
And starry night,
A Day created by the One Uncreated,
And lived in the Wedding
Of Love, of soul and Spirit-being.
For this I will,
With my indomitable will,
Keep praying.
Copyright 2015 Joann Nelander
You have carried me on Your shoulder.
I am that wound that pained You greatly.
Carry me into my future,
As You carried Your Cross.
I know I hurt;
I can feel it myself.
Now in heaven, You are free from pain,
Except for that, which You suffer,
In the mystery of Your Church on earth,
Except for that, which You suffer in me,
For love of me, for love of Your Cross.
I am the cross You lovingly still bear.
© 2011 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
Letting go, and letting God, still holds challenge.
A lifetime of learning hasn’t made it easier,
Just more imperative,
As my way just gets in my way.
Like a little lamb, I follow,
Though the way be set by trial ,
My shepherd walks before.
In hallowed steps
I plant my feet.
Surety and Covenant abiding
Your Way, my way, forevermore.
Copyright 2011 Joann Nelander
Lord make this useless beggar useful.
Like the returning Prodigal
Nothing recommends me,
And everyone but You
Condemns me,
For my rags declare my misery.You see me
But You do not turn away.
You rush to my side,
And embrace the little one
Who wanders from Your side.I am to You
The lost and longed for
Child of Your Heart.
My provident possibility
Is all but destiny
Awaiting my “Amen”.You draw the bath Yourself.
You allow Your angels the joy
Of tending to my wounds.
They touch me in consolation
As they once ministered strength
To You in the garden,
For they beheld me then in Your Holy Agony.I am the child of Your sorrow
And Your glory.
Wash me and lovingly dress me
In Your robes of holiness and light.
You are creating me even now
While You gaze on me
For I am all “Yes”.Your kindness and Your gentleness
Convince me beyond doubt.
I yield to You my sinfulness.
Every moment in Your Presence is gracefilled.
I have but to stretch out my hand
That You might place Your ring on my finger,
Put forth my feet to see them shod for
The journey to Your house.I walk now in Your Kingdom,
For Your Presence makes light my steps
And sure the Way.
In Your embrace I find that I can dance merrily,
For the mysterious steps
Seem to come quite naturally
As long as I follow Your gentle persuasions.Dance on my Father,
My Friend, my King, my All.
In Your arms I have found myself.
I have become Onesimus.Joann Nelander
A desert You prepare for me.
In solitude You allure me.
An encounter awaits me,
Your heart waiting for mine.
A thousand betrayals,
Hasn’t dimmed Your vision
For Love’s elect.
©2012 Joann Nelander
Be Holy! 