Hello friends –

Below is a poem I wrote nearly ten years ago and I wanted to share it with you today. I have learned and grown over the past ten years and in many ways this poem has helped me along my journey. When I read it, it plays in my mind as a video, most always in black and white. I have found some pictures online I am going to include that are similar to the visions in my mind. I have referenced the ownership of them below since they are not my handiwork. My struggles in life are not so different from life experiences of others, meaning no one persons experiences rivals another, we all have them just in a wide variety of places and degrees. I am no more or less special than you are, we are all special. We are all individuals and yet we are all part of human existence. We all have emotions and ownership of them. More importantly, we are created and born with a purpose and a plan. Too often we allow ourselves to concentrate on the things we lack instead of the things we have. We are people made for community and togetherness, life was never meant to be traveled alone. We need brotherhood not dominance. We need more love and respect, less violence and pain.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” -John 14:27

May the Peace of God be with you always!

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.” -2 Thessalonians 3:16

~Peace~

A Child’s Wish

I look at you and I just want to pick you up, put my arms around you

Squeeze you and tell you everything is alright, tell you that you are safe

Caress you hair and sing you a lullaby, while gently rocking you

I want to whisper sweetly “I love you” and tell you I will protect you from the dark

You are scared of so many things, all the while trying to be a superhero, too

Slow down;

Take a deep breath, the world will not stop if you slow down

As a child and during my youth and even sometimes still

I would often wish for someone just like me

Someone to play catch with

Someone to talk with

Someone who understood me

Someone who really knew me

As I sit here now, knowing what I now know about myself

I have been wishing and dreaming

Pursuing my own reflection

The child I saw scared and alone,

It was me

There are so many things that I keep myself from doing, because inside

I’m that scared child

How can I reach her

How can I heal her…

I just want to pick her up and put my arms around her

Squeeze her and tell her everything is alright,

Say to her, you are safe now

I want to caress her hair and sing a lullaby and rock her gently

I want to whisper “you are loved” and I will stay with her in the dark

I want to tell her being a kid is the best fun ever and that I will be her superhero

I want to take her by the hand…walk, run and skip through life with her.

-Charlotte A. Robinson

 October 7, 2010

 2:12pm©️

*Updated 06/27/2019 3:51am©️

References:

https://www.paigeeworld.com/post/59043e942c586aeb0ecf3ee1/swings-alone-girl–semirealism-drawing-by-catsmeow43

https://paintingvalley.com/mother-and-daughter-drawing

https://www.pinterest.com/

https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/

https://www.biblegateway.com/

What is something you find hard to do?

Mine is waiting, well it’s actually patience and waiting…that’s at least two things I find hard to do! Haha!

According to Merriam-Webster: Waiting

• to stay in place in expectation of

• to remain stationary in readiness 

• to remain in expectation

• to pause for another to catch up

• to look forward expectantly

• to hold back expectantly

• to be ready and available

• to remain temporarily neglected

• to remain unrealized

According to Merriam-Webster: Patience

• the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient

The Bible tells us a lot about waiting and patience. *See link below for more references.

“For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.” -Habakkuk 2:3

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” -Romans 8:25

“…so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -1 Corinthians 1:7

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” -Philippians 4:6

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” -Romans 12:12

“…but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” “Isaiah 40:31

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” -1 Peter 5:6-7

I read something about patience a couple of days ago and it’s been on my mind ever since. I like to think I have a lot of patience, this may be true in some areas in my life but I definitely struggle with waiting and having patience from time to time. I am more aware of the abundance or lack of it now in my life than ever before. For example, traffic usually doesn’t bother me much unless I’m in a hurry or running late; bad serve in a restaurant, I tend to put myself in the servers shoes and think maybe they are having a tough day. When I’m excited to do something I have a tendency to overwhelm. I think I’m being patient and I think I’m being “cool.” Truth is my patience is disproportionate to real time. I have friends that I joke with and describe myself as going from A to Z, quickly. The problem with that is I miss all the stuff in between that brings depth and meaning. This can also be called “putting the cart before the horse” and other like metaphors. There’s many reasons people tend to quantum leap through things…learned behavior, this is what was learned over a period of time usually with similar results; fear of the unknown which is also a learned behavioral response typically from actual experience. It the feeling of, “I know how this ends, so let’s just get it over with and move on.” And sometimes it’s just, unfamiliar and uncomfortable and your just a little unsure or possibly scared… Let’s be honest, those feelings are all part of what makes us human, they can be empowering when we face them and see where the roads take us. Imagination is a wonderful thing but it’s a poor substitute for real, reality. Take hold of opportunities, when you find yourself racing through something for the sake of getting it over with (or) through it…ask yourself “why?” Try giving yourself the gift of patience, the gift of waiting, the gift of the experience and all the little surprises along the way. Life is a journey, not a destination. Above all, trust in God, seek His will in your life and where He leads you.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.” -Lamentations 3:25

“Patience is not quite the same as waiting. While waiting is something we do, patience is something we offer. We wait because we must — we have little choice in the matter. But patience is our gift to our Father while we wait. In the silence, in the waiting, patience chooses to declare, “Lord, I love you. I know I don’t love you as I ought, but I want to love you more than your answer to my prayers. I will try to offer you my patient heart as long as you ask me to wait on this.”

What is patience? Patience looks like perseverance.”

—Jani Ortlund

According to Merriam-Webster: Perseverance

• continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition 

• the action or condition or an instance  of persevering

Friends, may you have peace in you waiting, hope in you patience, faith in your perseverance as well as forgiveness and understanding in your zeal.

~Peace~

References:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dictionary

https://www.openbible.info/topics/waiting

https://www.openbible.info/topics/patience

https://www.biblegateway.com/