That man, Job,
That sad man, Job,
That mad man, Job,
That angry man,
That suffering and troubled soul,
Behold my man, Job.
Have we not all been there?
Why, O Lord?
Am I not well-meaning,
One of the good guys,
A nice person?
Why must the Cross
Touch my life?
Am I not
Like a son to You?
With these words,
He made me see,
"You are, indeed,
Like a Son to Me."
Jesus, high, lifted up, I adore You.
Jesus, high, lifted up, I praise You.
Jesus, high, lifted up, I love You.
Jesus, high, lifted up, I choose You,
As from the beginning, Jesus,
You chose me to be.Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
Who really died?
I never saw
The light of day.
Black descended,
Of a kind
I knew not,
And then no more….
How did I know you?
All I knew was you.
You flavored my becoming,
Your genes, my genes,
Your feelings,
Emotional rhythms,
Touching me
By blood connection.
All this,
And then no more…..
How did I feel you?
Warmth, gentle rocking
To and fro.
I felt you,
Heart-sounds
Surrounding me,
Pressing me,
Impressing me.
You whooshed at times
And hummed.
And then no more…..
How did I leave you?
I knew anguish
As once I knew you,
Your blood feeding mine,
I knew as parting,
Leaving behind mother
As gift withdrawn,
And bid goodbye.
Too young for endings,
Too soon to die,
And then no more…..
How now and by and by?
Sorrow and black
And then the Light.
New Day, as womb,
Enfolding me.
Life ending
Beginning yet again.
And I behold
The Face of God.
I live,
Knowing Love,
Yet still,
I wait for you.
Eternity has a door,
God knocks from His side,
I listen for you.
Pray but open the latch.
That you might die no more,
And free from sin,
Enter in.
There is yet more.
Who really died that day?
Take my hand , my Jesus.
Here I am, Your child,
Too small to stand on my own,
Yet welcome before Your throne.
It is, You, My Cause,
Who sets me upright,
Through and through,
To be like unto You.
All my life called,
And marked by Love Divine,
Under Your Shadow, sun shining above,
One command only, Love!
Who can love without You?
This, too, You supply.
You spend Your Life’s Blood
To draw me from mire and mud.
All from Adam
In human chain,
Hold hands to be set free,
Man from Sin in loving Thee.
Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
Only, and far flung God,
Bursting upon the scene of Time
To start the clock
By uncreated might,
And usher forth
Your manifold good will,
In the splendor of creation,
Look on me,
In my becoming.
In this, the only now I know,
This precious fleeting instant,
Reveal Yourself evermore.
You entered Time
That Man might enter Heaven.
You, Who are Eternal Being,
Let me contemplate Thee
Wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Nursing at the Virgin’s breast,
Growing as men grow,
Yet knowing the Father Creator
As only Son.
I see Thee arrayed,
Transfigured in the Light,
Even as You are stretched
Between Heaven and Earth
On Your Holy Cross,
Becoming Sin,
And dying in my stead.
Lifted above the earth in Your divinity,
Higher than the mountains,
Yet pervading depth and breathe,
To shake and shape
The cursed land and Man anew,
In elegant Revelation of Mystery,
Rising from the dead,
To live in universal blessedness,
Across all time and space,
Known but by grace.
Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
You, by Your Presence, O Lord,
Are Light to my darkness.
You are the kiss upon my brow,
The oil upon my head,
The arms of sweet embrace,
The banner over my heart.
You, All Love,
Bless this child of Your magnificent
And magnanimous Mercy.
Day by day.
I find You all about me.
Flowers and fields,
Spread before me
As a welcoming blanket.
Come rest awhile, You invite.
I come and I delight.
©2011 Joann Nelander
Be Holy! 