The Hands of Hope

The Hands of Hope

The hands of hope – could be yours or mine – reaching out to give to others,

Or reaching out in need from others…even just to have one’s presence known…

And sometimes just to hear:

“Hold on...this will pass, hold on, things will work out just fine, you’ll see.”

This is something that has to take place within you and me,

in order for others to see.

As with any other gift in life, the hands of hope can be misused,

and then often become abused…

The giving to others can become more like a transaction for exchange.

The reaching out can become something expected,

something owed; striving for just one’s own gain.

How do we keep holding onto Your hope,

to keep our hearts true to You?

Gently but firmly, from the stronghold of Your Love,

found within Your Word...

Directing our eyes for our hearts to see...

This has to take place within you and me for others to see.

Connecting with others, with hands held in prayer, to reach out as one...

With Your hands holding ours, full of Your love...

With Your hope in our hearts, we can share with another...

This has to take place within you and me in order for others to see.

© Sheri * April 2010

About the “Hands of Hope” poem...

Having healthy boundaries in our lives is necessary...to keep ourselves from being abused, and to keep ourselves from abusing others. There are times when we should give to others; just as there will be times when we will be in need from others. Sometimes we can give too much, and sometimes we can keep asking for too much.

So how do we know how to reach out? God will show us through His love, if we let Him. That will require us to be responsible in searching for His truth, though there will be times we should not lean on our own understanding, but on His Word. And His Word speaks about those of us who are given much, to much will be required. His Word also speaks of those who are able to work, should work...we cannot be like baby birds forever...sitting in our comfy nest...waiting for our life source to be dropped into our mouths...if we are able to do our part, then we should...and share with those who are not able. There are those though, that will repeatedly take advantage of you if you let them, which can prevent them from growing. Sometimes we need to shut our mouths and get out of our "gimme gimme nest," so we in turn can learn to help feed others.

There are people that need our help, truly.

We have to let God show us how to truly love one another...but we will not know how if we do not seek Him...He is there.... knocking at our door...waiting to show us how to love.

The picture below is from a circulated email from a few years ago, leaving me no name to connect with the photographer. The first time I had seen it, my thought was that of how insensitive the parenting bird was to land on one of its baby's head. Maybe through some of my own personal growth or insight, I now see how necessary the parenting birds' action may have been...that may have been the only way to make sure all of its babies were fed.

Rug of Life

© Sheri * 2006

About the “Rug of Life” poem…

Because we are responsible for our own actions, and the words we speak, how we spend our time is important. What we continually feed into our brains will influence the person we will become.
After watching an inspirational movie, the imagery spoken of within the poem came to mind, kind of like a ticker tape, with visions of the rug...so I quickly wrote them down.
Originally, I had just written the poem. Because of my son, Nick, going into the Marines a few years later, I created the crosswords (also symbolizing crossroads in life; choosing what path to travel), and developed the shape and colors of the imagery. The red, white, and blue for the colors of the flag of our blessed nation, and the words of the poem taking shape of Christ on the cross. My prayer that I commend my son into His hands…and no matter what happens… “God’s love will prevail.”
The imagery of the cross, and the use of all the words in the crosswords are connected to the meaning of the poem itself, which is a reflection of how we should daily reflect upon ourselves as a person; how we gradually grow in Christ’s love throughout our lives. The words that remain up by the cross are those things in life that we choose to keep. The words below the cross are things in our lives that need to be relinquished. "Sin" is at the foot of the cross because living this life on earth as it is now, we will not be completely free of sin because of our fallen nature… falling below sin is "fear" and "hate," the root of sin, which are things we need to let go of, so their growth does not spread throughout our lives holding us in bondage by our sin. The cross is symbolic of God’s forgiveness; Christ dying for our sins because of God’s great love for us, so we may live in His love throughout eternity.
Update: Since I had first written Rug of Life and drew the imagery...my growth in Christ has shown me that I had forgotten to include God's Peace...should be up there with God/Love...His Peace...something we abide in more the more we abide in Him.

Gift of Life

Gift of Life

While working in my garden, my Gift of Life, the Lord had shown me that there was a massive root of shame that needed to be uprooted; it had been choking out most of the good roots.
From so many years of improper care and neglect, this root of shame had even caused a shadow of depression, keeping my garden from receiving an adequate amount of Son light that is needed for a garden to grow into maturity.

The Lord has also shown me the need to just
Let Him
shower His love and mercy unconditionally and continuously upon my garden, which causes the very soil in the ground to be rich in His righteousness.

Oh, to finally start to see my garden grow!

To give forth sweet tasting fruit…
~To give Glory to God~

© Sheri * February 2007

© Photo by: Sheri * May 2007
After reading the book "Beauty for Ashes" by Joyce Meyer, I was inspired to write "Gift of Life."
About the "Gift of Life" poem...
Through the years, I believe the Lord has been trying to show me areas in my life that needed to be healed in order for new growth to start. I am not saying that the Lord never chooses to just heal someone instantly, because He has already shown us those types of miracles have and still do happen.
I believe He knows what’s best for us, and working through our pains, problems, and issues (sometimes referred to as the living hell we have created for ourselves, though we tend to put all the blame on others), is usually required of us; to participate in our own process of healing and growth. Although, we can at times be our own worst enemies...making our own change and growth more difficult to take place.
Someone once told me..."What's in the past, is in the past...but it has got to be the truth." .... made me think...otherwise, we may never learn from our mistakes...because self-destructive behaviors are not based on truth...but of misconceptions...once the truth, or the root of the behavior is exposed, or brought to light, we can find constructive ways to improve, to move forward, to leave our baggage in the past, allowing God to heal our wounds and renew us...continuously...
The photo with this poem represents the guarding of our hearts (the need for healthy boundaries) to behold and share the beauty of God's love with others in our lives. My earthly father made this gateway; like our Heavenly Father has done for us to come to Him.

My Boys

My Boys

My boys are almost men
Some days I long for them to be ten
I hope they have felt loved
As I have from them
Now that they are older
Their love for me I sometimes wonder and doubt
I catch myself feeling sad
And then I start to pout
But then I just remember
All the days we’ve had together
I will cherish the blessings that I have
Just from being their mother...

© Sheri * 2003

About the "My Boys" poem...
When my youngest son, Jack, was in his sophomore year in high school, he had written something derogatory about poets in one of his assignments. His English teacher expressed her concerns about Jack's attitude.
I did not want to give Jack the impression that he could get away with rude behavior just because his mother was employed by the school, but more importantly, his comment reflected an area in his heart that left unattended to, could possibly worsen, affecting his character.... So, I wrote my first poem.
After giving the poem to my sons as a gift, I then asked Jack what he thought of poets now...if he still thought poets deserved such an injustice as he had stated, because now, he knew a poet who loved him very much.

Master File

Master File

In the infrastructure of our brain, there are files kept that we have made...from the impressions we have felt and seen, collections from our time. Those files used most often become habits of our character, a reflection of our mind.

As we grow, mature, and age, some of these files will change.
Each of us should have a Master File, but without knowing and accepting the truth of God’s unconditional love, that file can often be incomplete, missing, or just misplaced. His love and grace could possibly then seem like just empty space.
When we proactively seek a relationship with God, to seek to know Him, He will become our only God, our true love, never again to be alone.
He will dictate to our Master File, leaving an imprint on our souls, showing we are His and His for a purpose. To let God be God and be amazed.

© Sheri * March 2010
© Photo by: Sheri * December 2009

About the “Master File” poem...

This poem was inspired by sorting through relationships, mainly on how our relationship with God affects all of our other relationships in life.
There are times in our lives when seeking Christian counsel can aid in areas in our lives that we may seem stuck in, that we need clarification and direction in, helping us in our healing and growth process. I was blessed to have been led to one such counselor who has a great capacity to share God’s love with others.
The imagery with this poem is a picture I had taken of my new front door. To me, it represents “My Shack” ("The Shack", written by William P. Young),...the place where we have built inside us, hiding all the things we don’t want others to see in us, for many reasons, but mainly because we have not fully come to see and trust in God’s unconditional love...(sometimes we ourselves have formed misconceptions that need to be revealed to us through His truth). And if we let Him, God will dismantle our shack, by us letting Him show us the truth and power of His love; to allow Him to heal us. Though "My Shack" is not completely dismantled yet, He has installed a new front door, allowing more of His Son light to shine in... allowing me to see His unconditional love more clearly, and has shown me how to put up healthy boundaries. And also... that there will always be areas in our lives that we may not completely understand, but we just have to keep trusting in Him to show us the way to love others and ourselves.

When looking at the picture, I can also see imagery of sort of a lion’s face...the eye up in the right-hand corner...and the pines below that could represent tear drops, the grieving of the Holy Spirit within us when we choose to live without concern for God’s will for our lives.
(Updated in red... for clarification on not purposely hiding sin within from others, just that I know throughout my life, I had formed misconceptions about God and that has most likely affected how I have seen myself in Christ...we are all works in progress : )
For more info on "The Shack", written by William P. Young, go to http://theshackbook.com/
To view or hear William P. Young telling his life story go to http://www.marinerschurch.org/theshack/av/index.html#

Dam or Bridge?

 

 

 

 

About the "Dam or Bridge" poem...
 

In this poem I tried to capture how some relationships develop outside of having healthy boundaries...of how important it is to develop a relationship based on God's love, not on taking a test drive down Lover's Lane to see if two people are sexually compatible.