Alignments Of The Stars
I think I see why I reluctant am
To step into the breach
These days,
And do the task which
Rises to the fore –It’s fear –
Fear that the Giants
Whom I faced
And fled
From years ago,
Still stock
The Promise Land,
Awaiting
My return.I’m not the first
To face dilemma this –
For long ago
Those people of
The desert,
Huddled thus
Around and on
That green oasis
Of Your love
And care,
O Lord –They knew my fear;
The fear
That all their past,
Though cast like pebbles
In your sea of glass,
Would surface
Now –And stand before them,
Mocking all their
Weaknesses
And fear –For having fled the field
When facing foes
Far greater than their strength –
As slaves
Inside –
Though outside,
Slaves no more.So here I am, O Lord;
Like them, a veteran
Of oasis years –Not going forth,
Not going back,
But eking out a life
You opened up
For me –
“Eight hours a day” –Yet even there,
I could not run full stretch
With full exuberance,
Joy, and zest –
The zest you built
Into our longing hearts,
In image of your
Very self.Lord,
Even now
I hear Your word
Of grace
And guidance,
As I stand
Before Your throne –And contemplate
The challenge
Of the days which lie ahead –“Stu, go ahead –
You need not fear the Giants,
For the life I have for you
Is much beyond
The point
Of their attack.“For all I have in mind
Is summed up in
The phrase I gave to you.
You need not fear –
“For constellations are just stars
In clusters,
Viewed from earthly point of view –“Each star aligned
To form a pattern
Pleasing to the eye –“But even there
They shift and change,
For they are each
In fact
In movements
Of their own –
More like,
Kaleidoscopic
In their
Shifting
Shapes
To human eyes.“Life complex is;
And when folks view
The stars around them,
Or events
And times
From which
They’ve
Come –“They see with fear,
Or hope, or joy –
Illusions
Which we
Think
Are real.“But no –
They need not fear the stars,
Or constellations
Of events
From days gone by,
Despite who might
Recall –“Just walk on by –
And when you
Come to strongholds
Of your past,
I’ll show the way –“Just like today –
And say to you,
‘Just circle 'round
That city
Seven times,
Then shout,
And blow
Your horns’–Then wham!
It will be gone –
For they’ll be spooked
By constellations
Which they see,
Or think they see,
But aren’t
(For them
Or you).“Eight hours a day –
Not in the way
You thought –
Or think –
Or ever will –“Just do the hours –
And leave the rest to me –
‘A point of view,
A focus,
And
A way of doing
Life’.Indeed.”
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