20 May 2016

Surrender

This is the first poem I wrote while at Bible School, so I thought it'd be appropriate to start off posting with this one... In other news, I'm still toying with ideas in my head for MITR, and hoping something solid comes through. But in the meantime, poetry! :-) 


Sometimes I forget how good the altar is.
From a distance, all I can see is the blood,
So I turn and I run as my stomach turns and I choke on tears—
This? This is good? This blood and this death are good?
I cannot bear this weight of surrender,
For it aches deeper than loss,
It churns in my mind as the voices awaken and yawn and say,
Here? Again? You fool.
You failed, you cannot let go, this is all you have left.
No.
You lie, voices of the depths.
You lie and do not tell the truth.
For the blood that runs off the altar is grace,
Pouring endlessly around me and through me,
Pulsing through my veins, expanding my lungs with every breath.
Loss is not the end, but the beginning,
For when I take all I have and compare it to that which stands in front of the altar,
The One who died upon it, yet rose again,
I shall cast everything down without a second thought,
For the beauty of this Savior is beyond all compare.
It is enough, oh Lord, it is enough.
You are enough.
And if all the voices in my head crowd around,
Shouting all of the blasphemies that cloud my vision and try to bring me into the wasteland of confusion,
I know the Voice that drowns them out, and I know that it is good,
And the Word that is spoken brings life abundantly,
Not death.
For every seed that is buried produces life in its death,
And I know that falling into this earth is not loss,
For what does it profit a man if he gains even the fullness of the earth,
If death has claim on his soul?
But I press forward, casting aside all other weights and cares,
I put on the altar my hopes and my dreams,
I surrender them in deep-seated hope,
For after death,
Life.  


14 comments :

  1. *buys one hundred copies of this and puts in everywhere in my house*

    *puts sunglasses on* nice.

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    1. XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDdd I love you.

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  2. I now believe it's possible to fall in love with a someone's poem!

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  3. Hello Hannah Joy. It is a beautiful poem on surrender. I am a Pastor from Mumbai, India. I am blessed and feel privileged and honored to get connected with you as well as know you because of who you are in the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been in the Pastoral ministry for last 37 yrs in this great city of Mumbai a city with a great contrast where richest of rich and the poorest of poor live. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. We also encourage young and the adults from the west to come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. we would love to have you come to Mumbai with your friends to work with us during your vacation time. I am sure you will have a life changing experience. My email id is : dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and and my name is Diwakar Wankhede. Looking forward to hear from you very soon. God's blessings on you, your family and friends also wishing you a blessings and a Christ centered rest of the year 2016

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    1. Hello Pastor Diwakar Wankhede! Thank you so much for your comment and your encouragement. What a blessing to receive encouragement from a brother in Christ from so far away! Thank you for reading my poem. And thank you also for your service as pastor in Mumbai and your service to the poor. I definitely encourage you to press into Jesus and to continue in His Kingdom work! Thank you for the invitation to work with you--your ministry sounds like such a blessing! I am praying about how God will use me in the future. I will keep your invitation in mind as I pray for guidance.
      Again, thank you for reading and for your encouraging comment! May God bless you richly as you proceed in doing His work!

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  4. Your blog is sooo cute! I'm so glad you had an encouraging time..it's refreshing to come back with a fresh start of sorts. :)

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    1. Thanks Julia! :-) And yeah, it is kind of refreshing. I just can't seem to sort my thoughts out. ;-)

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  5. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT JUST LIKE YOU

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  6. screaming forever and ever but what's new. i'm glad you're back. <3

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  7. This is such a beautiful poem! So many emotions.

    For every seed that is buried produces life in its death,
    And I know that falling into this earth is not loss

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    1. Thank you, Serena! I'm so glad you liked it. It's kind of funny...you had those lines there and I was like, "Did I write those????" XDD God works in funny ways, because I really needed those two lines to jump out to me today. :-) Thanks for the comment!

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