January 18, 2006
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The Way Home
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As I struggled
As I slipped
and stumbled
muck-covered
I wiped at my
clouded eyes
with my
muddy hands
And slipped again
Chill-bone tired,
I blinked and
strained to see
The high dry Path
from which I had -
in lightning-fall
plunged;
no, leapt
back to my own primal swamp.
No longer warm and comforting,
it ate and burned at my
now unnative being.
Pitiless
Cold
I remembered Home,
and reached out
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The Hand once bloodied
by the spike;
Now alive, and
pulse’d with light
Enfolded me in all my ooze
Washed off my shame
and helped me choose
With clearer eye
and wiser ken
The Way beyond the ways of men.
My sight’s on Him
Who is the Way
Not on the feet which quickly stray:
(they’re my own feet, and made of clay)
O’er pits, and paths, and waves
I’ll go
And follow Him Who loves me so
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So, cleansed (again)
and grateful
(again)
I set my vision;
clearer now
With deeper love
on the Path
the way home
on Him;
path,
way,
rescuer,
lover of my soul,
Who is my home.
© copyright 2006 James A. Smallish
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Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
( John 14:5&6)
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Comments (43)
Did you write that, Jim? It’s very good, and a good reminder!
Kathi
!!!will u please tell all ur friends with a heart to go to this good looking, nice, smart guy’s site and leave him some love this week…he is a great guy, but he paralyzed and some days he needs more love than others…if ya have a heart go to http://www.xanga.com/mavrikwilson and tell him u are leaving him with a prayer and lots of love…thanks ya
tell him agent k sent u
((JIM))), HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!! AWESOME!!!
OH, AND THANKS FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS ABOUT MY DAUGHTER.
LOVE, CHERYL
That was beautiful, Jim. Seriously, it’s really good.
My sight’s on Him
Who is the Way
Not on the feet which quickly stray:
(they’re my own feet, and made of clay)
*she reads and re-reads in awe*
Beautiful Jim…
Yes, i love Grobain’s music and cd..
Are you familiar with “Andrea Boccelli”?Just thought you might like…
Thanks for your comments..
A hug,
Lucy
It’s excellent, and so full of imagery, and says so much. It’s wonderful! I’m lovin’ it.
Lovely Poem… Your grandson looks alot like you aswell. I never really notics
Check out http://www.persecutionvideo.com. It is a Christian sitcom on the net made by high school and college students designed to reach our generation for Christ!
Grace be with you.
Brady Hardin “James”– St. Louis, MO.
“The Way beyond the ways of men.” Jesus truly is the only way, the only truth and the only life through whom we can have the eternal fellowship with our Father in heaven!
That is a very heart felt piece of writing, well done, Praise God that He is there to reach for me and gather me up!!
Thanks. God Bless!!
RYC: I bet you’re being too hard on yourself. But oh what grace abounds towards you!
I suppose your right, ill think of something eventually.
Mr. Weasley (SP) was a very bight fellow
I think that is most excellent…
RYC: I don’t mind the evesdropping…thank you very much for the comment.
That was terrific!!! Your very talented, wonderful gift the Lord has given you!
Have a bless weekend, and thanks for coming by my site and commenting!!
RYC: Thank you…and God Bless your son. We should be so proud of our men and women serving this great country!
Hi Jim! Wow! Great poetry! Great images! I must admit that I don’t usually read poetry, but something drew me to read your work. I’m impressed. I’ll be back. I also really like your background picture
God bless!
hey thanks for beign there for me. lol and thanks for the prayers! I am glad to see you are keeping up with prayer warriors! i am continuing to pray for you as well. God Bless Bro!
Cammie
Thank you for this beautiful poem. God sure has wiped the muck off me way too many times.
Heather
I agree with Heather:) We’re like little kids, we get “dirty” without even trying:) Thank you for your comments on my posts and for this poem, and for the music on your site…I listened to the Spanish one. I speak Spanish but don’t understand 100%…but the Spanish Christian music just hits you in a way the English doesn’t, when you understand it. I can’t explain it, it’s not that English isn’t as good, it’s just different, and Spanish poetry and music touch deeper cords in your heart somehow. Of course this poem of yours touched my heart, too:) Gerrie
Hey Bro..
Thanks for the comments and the prayers for Ruth. We appreciate them more than you know. I loved the words you penned. You know.. it may make a great Rap
Be blessed my brother.. and have a great day!
Your friend and Brother in Christ,
Phil
Well done Jim! I’ve written a couple on this subject myself. Oh the Grace we are Given! Grace that is greater than all our sin!
Jim,
I appreciate good poetry and your work is good, very good IMHO.
Keep at it!
In Christ,
Eric
That is a beautiful poem. God Bless you Jim.
Patty
Jim,
thanks for your comment..
I like your new background..
A hug,
Lucy
Beautiful! 2 Cor 5:7 comes to mind!
I’m not one of religeous peotry, but I have to say, great peom.
Excellent! You have a lot to share in your ability to write. Thank you for your comments. You are very encouraging. Sometimes we look at our kids and wonder if this is what’s best for them. But I just have to put them in God’s hands and leave them there.
I noticed you have IZ singing on your site. I like him a lot but my favorite is Keali’i Reichel. I hope you have a great weekend.
Pam
Posted 1/20/2006 at 10:47 PM by onevoice1 – delete – block user
Thanks for the post, I love CS Lewis, and I have started re-reading some of his works since a certain movie has come out.
Very nice writing, Jim.
Thanks for stopping by faithfully.
Calanders only remind you that:
1. There’s a lot of stuff you have to do, that you haven’t done.
2. You’re getting older everyday.
RYC: “Grace that is greater than all our sin” is the last phrase of the refrain of a hymn I grew up with. It is an amazing song! To read more about it, go to http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/g/ggreater.htm
Also, during Christmas you had a song playing on here, I believe it was O Holy Night. How can I get a song to play on my site?
“With clearer eye
and wiser ken
The Way beyond the ways of men.”
I really love this poem… so honest and beautiful.
And your new pic– what a blessing.
Wanted to let you know that I have to take down a comment you made where you mentioned “names” I’ve had to take down any mention of family due to our safety…. Wanted to let you know.
Also, I’m not going to be shutting down my site, but giving the site to another “staff member” at the Laughter Safety Valve Commission(tm). Namely Katie II… my cat. This way, the site can have a superior safe laughter rating…
Katie tends to spell words “phonetically” — so her writing skill is rather humorous. She likes funny stuff, like silly pics of animals and cartoons and things… so thought I would let her have some fun. (^..^)
I’m going to be posting at Agape Is A Five Letter Word and Katie will let the Xanga Community know when I have something new to share… so you can go check it out.
Kind Regards,
Dawn-Renee…
“With clearer eye and wiser ken…
The Way beyond the ways of men”
I love that part of this poem…
Jim,
I’m “turning over” Katie’s Purple Cat to my cat, Katie II for good clean fun and lots of silly smiles of happiness. And whatever fun thing she wants to do, like educate folks on kitty antics…But this is her first venture and she could use suggestions…on how to help us remember that time of innocence and sweet fun… and to remind us to follow G*d with that same trust…
If you have any suggestions/ideas or just want to leave “her” some encouragement, please stop by and say hi… Besides helping Katie with her new “toy,” I’m going to be posting at Agape Is A Five Letter Word…For Chutzpah. My Agape site has a safe laughter rating for “grown-up” — to help with the stress of added responsibilities as we get older and interact in the world. (and still a ‘safe’ place to forgive and care about others….)
But Katie’s Purple Cat will be good clean fun at any age….
Shalom and Laugh safely in any language,
Dawn-Renee & Katie II ^..^
(Laughter is good medicine for the hurting soul — Job 8:21 & Proverbs 15:13)
Sorry… I posted twice and didn’t realize… oh well.
Thanks for your prayers…. and stay unique.
-Katie’s Mommy.
Well….Your daughter sounds like a great person..For the things she does and for the sensibility she shows..This picture says a lot..
Praise God..
A hug, Jim!!
Lucy
Hafa Adai: Wow…..so many comments and postings…how do you keep up. Thanks so much for visiting my site………….You are a blessing ……………..Anita
Thanks for the info…Whenever I can get Tiffany or my little sister to translate all that into non computer terms, I’ll get some music uploads on the site! I never was great at reading instructions…I need to do it a couple of times, and then I’m good. Most of the songs I post should be played in the background, I think, and if I can ever get MY songs on cd, if I understand you right, I can play them too!
aaahhhh…. first sip of horseshoe coffee for the day…now I can think!
Anyhow, thanks again for the advice! My momma is a die hard Cash fan, yet she, as a Christian, was dissappointed in the movie Walk The Line. She thought they should have depicted his later life as well (after he became a Christian). About the fist song of his I’m going to download, or upload…whatever…to the site is “Flesh And Blood” A great “me” love song!
Wow, you have some intense mental pictures in that one. I really like the contrast throughout the poem. It’s a wonderful reminder of us contrasted against Christ! I can’t wait to go Home!
Hey Jim..
Well, today Ruth was able to go back to work for the first time two weeks. Praise God! She is feeling better but still weak. Things are starting to turn around and now she is hungry.. so I promised I would cook. I didn’t promise however that she would have a kitchen left by the time I finish
Have a blessed day and thanks for all your comments.
Phil
PS. Start a trend .. “Mid-Life Rappers” … that should wake up some people!
Good news Bro… Ruth survived my cooking.. the house is still standing and most incredible of all…. it was edible !!! (LOL) Thank God for a Grill!!! (lol)
Have a great day in the Lord!
Phil
A hug,Jim….
Lucy
Maybe it’s silly to write another comment, but I’ll do it anyway:) Reading the poem again, I am struck by the visual imagery in it. “The hand once bloodied by the spike….. enfolded me in all my ooze…..” Seeing the horror that goes on in the world, sometimes I wonder how God even stands us at all… yet He sent Jesus, and He refuses to give up on us as a species. And then those of us who accept His love, he wants an actual RELATIONSHIP with us… mind boggling, isn’t it? Your poem paints a picture of that relationship. Thank you! Do some more, and maybe even write just your thoughts down, poetic or not! We’re all ears .. er…eyes! Gerrie
Psalm 127:4-5 “As arrows are in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy, blessed, and fortunate is the man whose quiver is filled with them!”
That is wonderful poetry!
Enjoy your week