I Love Jesus!

 Photo credit: nowhabersham.com

I CAN'T MAKE YOU LOVE HIM

 

I can't make you love Him if you don't

can't strike a match

to cause your heart to blaze

at the mention of His Name

can't cause you to tremble

as I tremble

before His holiness

can't jumpstart love

from the outside in

It only happens from the inside out

 

No matter how much I love you

 

loving Him

is not something you can get from me

like a cup of mulled cider or a hug

not something you can inherit

like good genes, strong teeth, or curly hair

not something I can demonstrate

like how to knead dough or rhyme couplets

nor is it something I can gift-wrap

tie with a crimson ribbon

and give you to make you happy

 

No, all I can do is tell the old, old story

about His beauty, as I perceive it

His mercy, as I've experienced it

His wonders and His love

All I can do is hope, pray

and wait

 

Truth will not impose

Truth waits to be sought

Answers wait for age-old questions

The Door waits for your knock

 

When He opens

you'll find He's been expecting you

already loving you

 

No, I can't make it easy, although it can be

I embarked on my quest; you'll embark on yours

No, I can't make you love Him if you don't

but should your quest lead you to His heart

I'll be waiting, like the One inside the door

to dance in the glow of His grandeur with you

 

Maude Carolan

Want to read more poems about Jesus?

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online at Amazon & Barnes & Noble.

Here's a link to Maude's website:

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Bible Lover

 

THE REDHEAD TWO PEWS UP

 

Across the aisle, two pews up

stands an attractive, middle-aged woman

with springy mahogany curls

corkscrewing out in various directions

 

She turns her head

Her lipstick looms lush, full

and passionately crimson

 

With exuberance

she lifts her hands high

and heartily sings

"Shout to The Lord!"

along with the congregation

following the words projected

on a white overhead screen

 

The redhead sits

and prepares to hear the message

She casually unzips

her black leather-covered Bible

undistinguishable

from many in the sanctuary –

ordinary Holy Bibles with

hundreds of thousands

of contemplated black words

upon thousands of well worn

white gilt-edged pages

 

But…

this woman's Bible

is extraordinary…

wildly splashed

with big bold dashes –

highlighter daubs of

blue, yellow, rose, green –

as Utterly…Unabashedly…Vibrant!

as each Living! Breathing! Word!

 

I smile…at how colorful

God made her

 

Maude Carolan

Maude Carolan Pych

Here I am with a copy of my book of poetry about the Birth, Death & Resurrection of Jesus. It's titled, "Behold the Lamb...poetically!" and is available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. For more information, visit my website at www.maudecarolanpych.net.

"This Old Bible"

 I'm back. I took a few weeks off from posting after Christmas while my hubby, Bob, was recuperating from injuries sustained from a fall down our basement stairs earlier in December. Then my beloved 96-year-old aunt also took a spill and her injuries landed her in the hospital, then a nursing home. Aunt Carol developed pneumonia and passed away on January 9th. In the midst of providing TLC to Bob and Auntie, Bob and I came down with Covid-19. Fortunately, our cases were mild and we're doing better now, so here I am at my laptop ready to resume posting a poem to my blog on Sundays. Today's selection is, "This Old Bible." Enjoy!

Photo credit: desiringgod.org

THIS OLD BIBLE

 

It’s not one of those expensive

gold-edged, leather-bound volumes.

Its margins are filled

with scrawled notations

gleaned from personal revelations

and years of teaching

under Jonathan and Wayne.

There are yellow highlights,

asterisks, exclamation points, arrows,

underlines, sometimes double underlines,

sometimes double underlines in red ink.

There are little line drawings, dates,

Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic

transliterations, translations,

prayers copied on blank pages in front,

prayer cards tucked in its pages,

bookmarks, tracts,

a few notes and letters.

Its pages have lost their brightness

from handling and caressing,

they’ve absorbed tears,

illuminated joys.

There are jagged pen slips

from dozing,

many index labels have fallen off.

Its spine has been repaired

again and again.

It doesn’t look like anybody’s treasure.

 

When I pass on,

there might be a little money,

property, some poems.

There might be a few pieces

of inexpensive jewelry.

You’ll rummage through

the way we did when Grandpa died,

when lots of things were thrown in dumpsters,

lots of things were divided up and given away.

You may be tempted to toss this book,

but, no, no, I know you’ll know

this old battered Bible

is the most valuable possession

I’ll leave behind.

 

Maude Carolan     

     

Behold the Lamb...poetically!

By Maude Carolan Pych

is available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

maudecarolanpych.net