"My Circumcised Heart"

 Let me tell you why I love Him...

MY CIRCUMCISED HEART

Deut 30:6; Rom 2:29

 

There was no mohel

no Bris Milah on my eighth day

and no visible drop of blood

from my cloven heart

during the years that followed

so, when and how it happened

cannot be pinpointed

Perhaps it occurred

when I read Moses’ face shone

after he was in the presence

of the Lord, on the mountain

or that David danced

uninhibitedly before the Ark

out of impassioned love for God

or perhaps when I heard Boaz

put his covering

over the gentile Ruth

and became her kinsman redeemer

Oh, it might have been

when I made aliyah[1] in ’86 or ‘87

or again in 2006

each time praying

at the Wall and the Tomb

or it may have happened

upon becoming utterly awestruck

at the Little Cupula of the Tablets

while considering Messiah’s return

or possibly it was the night we sang

every carol we knew

in the shepherd field of Bethlehem

It could even have been

when I drank water from

the ancient Jacob's Well

or the morning I experienced sunrise

over the Dead Sea

dreaming of the Great Day

when fish will thrive

and vegetation bloom, miraculously

in its healed waters

It may well have been

the sight and smell of the land

as I walked in the footsteps

of my Jewish Savior

or when my heart

caught fire while reading

the melodious Psalms

or Solomon's Song of Songs

or as I poured over the account

of Peter's prison praise

Actually it probably was when

I was born anew

and received blessed assurance

that I am eternally saved

by the precious Blood of the Lamb…

 

All I know is

some way, somehow

something happened

to spiritually circumcise

this gentile heart

making it echad[2]

with the Heart of the God

of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

and I haven’t for a single moment

been the same

since—

 

Maude Carolan Pych

---

[1] Aliyah means ascent in Hebrew.

[2] Echad means one in Hebrew.

Maude Carolan Pych

Here I am holding a copy of my book, "Behold the Lamb...poetically!" a compilation of poems I've written over a span of 30 years, about the Birth, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The book is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

"Sunflowers in the Storm"

 

SUNFLOWERS IN THE STORM

 

My sunflowers lift their faces to the sky

Haloed in golden splendor

they imitate the great orb of light

that shines down upon them

and reflect back its glory

for all they’re worth

 

They stand stately and tall

Beautiful. Confident

swaying with grace

almost dancing in place

day after sunny day

 

and then a storm rolls in

 

Clouds emerge and darken

The rain lets go its fury

pelting them without mercy

The wind blows wildly

 

Pummeled to the ground

the sunflowers spring back

over and over again

They can take it

 

Watching, I wonder

that their slim stalks don’t snap

as they are knocked about

 

Next morning, the sky is blue

the sun shines brightly

and the recovered golden heads

smile at the orb again

 

 

and I know

sometimes I am a sunflower in the storm

sometimes I’m a sunflower in the sun

 

Maude Carolan Pych

More poems?

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Don't You Love Sunflowers?

 

I'm happy in my sunflower garden.

 

SUNFLOWERS

 

God’s abundance wows me

from a sprawling field of sunflowers

which tower above

on thick woody stalks

 

They lift great ochre heads

framed in ragged haloes

of yellow gold

to shine sunrays upon me

like God’s own radiant face

amid a communion of saints

and I must smile back

 

Their leaves

are big green hearts

In their midst

my own heart

grows and greens

 

How God loves me!

He astonishes His child

with wondrous whimsies

 

Soon, when the season ends

they’ll just nod their weary heads

and shed their golden haloes

on the ground

 

and bequeath their gift of seed

to ravens of the air

which will feast festively

upon God’s abundance

unto them

 

Maude Carolan

Here are Maude's books of poetry:

"Wonderhoods" a memoir

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

For ordering information, go to:

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Sunflowers Are In Bloom!

 

Photo by Maude

FREE GIFTS

 

For weeks now

I’ve been driving by a house

on Totowa Road

that holds no distinction

except for a vibrant flower garden

in front and around the side

 

What catches my glance

and causes me to smile

are perhaps thirty or forty

gigantic golden sunflowers

shouting for attention

 

Today I printed

eight sunflower poems

folded them neatly

and placed them in an envelope

decorated with a scribbled sketch

of a solitary sunflower

and a note saying

I love them, too!

and left the envelope

by the front door

of the house I often pass

 

Sometimes I leave bereavement poems

on a table at a neighborhood mausoleum

or give copies of my chapbook

The Widow’s Song

to newly widowed friends

Sometimes I mail poems

about butterflies

to people who love them

and regularly post poems on my blog

about God’s love and His mercy

with the hope

of reaching those

who need encouragement

 

When the one who gifted me

with a garden full of sunbursts

opens the door today

I hope my simple poems

generate a smile

 

Maude Carolan Pych

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net