Christmas Poem 2014 - Video Blog

Here it is:

How do you explain utter disorder in verse,

A year in which every turn felt as curse?

South America to North, with island stops between,

Our gifts beneath our tree, opened and unseen.

We longed to return, and our world to stop spinning,

You granted our wish, perhaps our emotions will cease swimming?

Indeed they did not, Lord where is your peace?

Do you care nothing for the state of these streets?

They filled with protestors and tear gas and burning,

They filled with polluters and tanks ever purring,

We saw and we feared, and we doubted and prayed,

Why, Father, is your mercy delayed?

We were ripped away once more, how could this be?

We were no longer able to taste, to smell, to see.

God be with us, with all our hearts, we cry,

Hoping against hope, that you would be nearby.

We felt not your presence, nor sensed your love,

We seemed abandoned, only clouds reigned above.

Homeless we bounced, our hope ever fading,

Were all those that claimed Jesus just faking?

The tears began rolling, our hearts ever broken,

Our hugs became tighter, our words wiser spoken.

We looked to you Lord, knowing not what we'd find,

We felt perhaps you truly never had us in mind?

We found that you wept, and you cried and you grieved,

Every tear that we shed, you shed your own and received

Our doubts and our anger and frustration and madness,

You received them with joy and not sadness.

You opened your arms, and into your embrace we fell,

We remember slowly why we love the story you tell,

Of a world in deep hurt, and a dream ever fading,

Yet with you God, into our morass bravely wading.

"God with us", you were aptly named,

A new kingdom, and salvation you rightly claimed.

Joy to the world, we have longed to sing,

Yet to our lips those words we could not bring.

Now here we are, peace of soul drawing near,

Holding you dearly as King, we have nothing to fear.

Your love knows no bounds, your grace limitless,

Finally, we may rest, ending our hyper vigilance.

You will guide our steps, though we know not the way,

We find our hope in you Father, and with true hearts we say,

Thank you for grief, thank you for pain,

Thank you for growth, and for character gained.

Thank you for heartbreak, thank you for sorrow,

Thank you for mourning, and a hope for tomorrow.

You are the one, our voices rise in song,

You are the one, in whom we belong!

Your peace you establish, through pain and despair,

We've learned joy and grief make a formidable pair

It's the way you redeem, the way of the cross,

You, above all, know the misery of loss.

You sent your Son, the king to the earth,

And lay in a manger, after the Virgin's birth,

You took on the pain and the hurt and the grief,

You took our sins on the cross, and the world found relief.

You suffered for us, by the grief that you bore,

You gave us redemption, and yet something more,

This year you have taught us a secret seldom obtained,

It is through suffering that your kingdom is gained.