My Papa

Five years have passed.
Has it been that long?
I know 'tis true,
Yet it still feels wrong.

It seems like yesterday,
In my mind's eye.
That you could live forever,
That you'd never die.

Yet here we are,
And there we've been.
I still believe, someday,
We shall see you again.

Yet I'll never forget that day,
July second, two thousand four.
Grandma was coming out,
Even before we reached the door.

"The hospital called,
There's something wrong.
We need to get there.
We can't take too long."

When we arrived,
Nobody spoke.
My aunt shook her head,
And my mother just broke.

My cousin was smoking,
I sat by her side,
Though her cheeks were tear stained,
I never cried.

I broke down later,
When all was done.
I cried bitter tears,
After the setting sun.

Yet still I believe,
He isn't truly gone.
For in the heart of his family,
He'll forever live on.

In the rows of the garden,
And the pottering shed.
We'll forever remember,
The life that he led.

We can never blame God,
For we had Papa so long,
He went to join Jesus,
He is where he belongs.

And he's still here with us,
In all that we do.
In life's every season,
Every shade, every hue.

For my Hurting Sisters

Just leave them alone now,
You’re tearing them down.
You’re forcing upon them,
An unwanted crown.

A crown of hurting and sorrow,
And judgments unfound.
And ever so slowly,
They’re coming unwound.

They give you their best,
And you ask for perfection,
They try to follow your rules,
Yet you make no exception.

They don’t feel your love now,
They don’t want to be home.
They hear only yelling,
And they’re longing to roam.

We try to rebuild them,
And tell them what’s real,
That their efforts do matter,
That someone cares how they feel.

We work to restore them,
To bring our friends back,
Yet under the pressure,
They’re starting to crack.

We know you don’t mean it,
You don’t see what we do,
Yet I hope that you do not deny,
What we see to be true.

We still want you to parent,
But to do so with love,
And to take guidance from Heaven,
From our Father above.

For my Little Sis

Tired of fighting,
Tired of tears,
Tired of succumbing,
To unspoken fears.

Ready for a change,
To happen within,
Oh, Lord, please show me,
For alone I can’t win.

Please show me how to fix this,
Tell me what I’m doing wrong.
I’m so tired of our arguing,
How we can’t seem to get along.

I miss the old times,
Not so long ago,
What happened between then and now?
I doubt we’ll ever know.

We can never truly go back,
The past must be the past,
But we can adjust to modern day,
And our friendship will last.

We can come out stronger,
This happened for our good,
For God made us that promise*,
And trust Him we should.

For He knows the plans He has for us,
Plans for a future and for hope*,
He is the God of all comfort*,
And He will help us cope.

Girlie, hold onto his promise,
And never let go,
For the storms are truly coming,
To toss you to and fro.

But Jesus is the rock*,
The one who calmed the storm*,
He is the creator of the universe*,
Who with words the whole world formed.

And know that I will be here,
As long as He’ll allow,
I won’t be on Earth forever,
But I can promise you that for now.

I love you, little sister,
That I hope you never doubt,
Remember He whose love is greater,
The One we could never truly live without.

----
1. *Romans 8:28
2. *Jeremiah 29.11
3. *2 Corinthians 1:3-11
4. *Psalm 18:2
5. *Mark 4:35-41
6. *Genesis 1:1

Remember

In life…
The firsts sidle by you,
Unnoticed by most.
They wander in silence,
Becoming old ghosts.

First steps, first loves,
First friends, first kisses,
First fights, first heartbreaks,
First hates, first disses.

It’s the ends that are painful,
And harsher than nails.
They penetrate deeply,
And so rarely fail.

Final tests, final hugs,
Final waves, final tears,
Final songs, final words,
Final tales, final fears.

Yet every end sparks a beginning,
Every finish a new start.
Each curse brings a blessing,
To be taken heart.
So… Remember.