He'll restore the years that the locusts have eaten...

LOCUSTS

I will restore to you the years

which the swarming locust has eaten,

the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,

my great army, which I sent among you.

                                         Joel 2:25 RSV

He said He would

restore the years

locusts ate,

for surely He saw

the hundred billion swarm,

their shimmering brown wings

eclipsing the sun

as they munched my years,

grew fat and satisfied

on tender green sorrows.

Their feasting

left me gnawed,

bare, bereft.

One sweet morning

I awoke in peace,

sunlight streaming

through the windowpane.

Of course, He kept His promise.

The cloud has long cleared;

flesh has returned to my bones.

Like Job,

I’ve emerged

from devastation

with blessings

even more bounteous

than before.

Numbering them,

I thank Him

through glistening tears.

Remember this

if my old locusts

ever swing around

and fly your way.

Maude Carolan

This poem was written many years ago after I emerged from years of deep sorrow. A friend recently reminded me that she read this poem at her wedding, more than a decade ago. God did it for me, He did it for her, He'll do it for you. He is a God of restoration!