Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Dying to Myself (A collection of poetry from last April)

Part One
I sit here in my thoughts.
Drowning in a sea
of desires and longings
of hopes and promises.
A desire to do your bidding
gets overshadowed
by a longing...
A longing for company
for a partner, an equal.
"It is not good
for man to be alone."
Send me someone suitable
so I stop digging in dumpsters
and falling into snares
with every cute girl I see.
Every cute girl
who is willing to dance with me.
Every turn of her hip,
every smile she slips
leads me down a path
away from your loving embrace
and into the arms of death.
She doesn't see it,
and she doesn't know it,
but she does the dance of death.

Part Two
I am consumed by my sin.
Like a flood, wave after wave
pours over me
and I lose myself to it.
I give in and then proceed
to enjoy myself.
And like a breath of fresh air,
I remember who I am.
A child of God.
Set apart and sanctified.
But the waves keep coming,
and I lose myself
and I go deeper into my sin.
Each time I sink
I go deeper
sometimes flowing with the events
sometimes pushing the boundaries
daring myself to go further.
A battle is fought
in my soul.
Over and over I give in
because I don't trust You
to provide and I'm not patient.
Violently I'm thrown to the shore,
and new waves appear
waves of guilt and shame
and stark reminders of how I,
how I chose sin over you.

Part Three
I am haunted,
haunted by her face,
haunted by my actions,
haunted by my failure,
haunted by my guilt,
haunted by my shame.
I gave in to temptation,
and willingly went against You.
In Your mercy and Your grace,
I am forgiven, but do I accept?
No, I want to go back for more.
I want to force your hand,
and see if you really love me.
This horrible wretched person
I envision myself to be.
I act out like a child
and shout, "Will you love me now?"
and secretly hope that You say yes,
all the while hoping to find love in my sin.
But there is no love there.
Only death.
But will it be too late?
And what about the others,
the others who see me
who see me as a leader to be?

Part Four
My thoughts are not on You.
My thoughts think of sinful things
Things that hinder
and do not help.
Desires that have a rightful place.
A place that is NOT above you.
But somehow these desires
get mixed up,
and think they are more important than You.
I sit here and ponder,
what each would be like.
The curve of her hips,
The taste of her neck,
The smell of her hair...
I trip and stumble flat,
and I start all over again.
How do I look at Your face
on days like this?
How do I repent?
When I can't get her out of my head?
When I'm caught on every word she said,
and every turn of her head.

Part Five
So...
What should I say?
What should I do?
Here I am.
Thinking about her...
Instead of You.
The temptation she brings...
Every turn of her hips...
Every smile she slips...
Is like Eden's fruit that drips...
I hear a whisper...
"Don't partake
for her sake
and yours."
And then a shout,
"Who are You
 to deny me?"
And I freeze
as it dawns on me
that the shout
that bitter awful shout
came from me.
and I cry a little.
and die a little.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Something Beautiful

I'm a Christian. I follow Jesus the Christ. I'm also a young (24) professional; specifically a chemist (although my degree is in chemical engineering). I also live with five other Christian guys in a place called "The Dawg Haüs". Four of the guys are students. The other is a professional as well, but he is planning to go on staff with the campus church, Illini Life, that we are involved with. As a house, we have Dawg Names. I am Shaggy Dawg. My hair is long and curly, so the name is fitting. While living with these guys I'm learning what it means to follow Christ while working a full-time job and while trying to reach out to the student population of the U of I, that I once belonged to. One of my all time favorite songs is "Something Beautiful" by Jars of Clay. The song is a very fitting portrait of my walk with God and the struggles I have had believing that He could change me from something normal into something Beautiful.

Something Beautiful ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rj6_TVmMWY )
by Jars of Clay

If you put your arms around me,
could it change the way I feel.
I guess I let myself believe that
the outside might just bleed it's way in.
Maybe stir the sleeping past lying under glass.
Waiting for the kiss that breaks this awful spell.
Pull me out of this lonely hell.

Close my eyes and hold my heart.
Cover me and make me something.
Change this something normal into something beautiful.

What I get from my reflection isn't what I thought I'd see.
Give me reason to believe you'd never keep me incomplete.
Will you untie this loss of mine, it easily defines me.
Do you see it on my face.
That all I can think about is how long
I've been waiting to feel you move me.

Close my eyes and hold my heart.
Cover me and make me something.
Change this something normal into something beautiful...

And I'm still fighting for the Word to break these chains.
And I still pray when I look in your eyes.
You stare right back down into something beautiful.

Close my eyes and hold my heart.
Cover me and make me something.
Change this something normal into something beautiful...