Frost

Feathery spikes of numbing embrace
Drawn from that unseen, yet touched

Transforming changing cooling
Gathering under night’s covering

Or written by fog’s chill greeting
Air heavy with enfolding moisture

Growing delicate dainty arrays
Splendid intricate formations

Look closely in simple wonder
Upon its quiet arrival

Shining upon leaf and blade
Season’s brush raised in salute

Rising from earth’s frozen womb
Signpost of Jack’s dark days

Pointed touch banishing leaf and bud
To bide their time for warmer days

…Now crushed beneath heavy trod
Or vanishing upon warm touch and light

To await once more its rising

Transformation

Oh! Wow! Look! Look! … Here it comes. Here it comes! It’s coming out!

Have you ever watched a caterpillar forming its chrysalis (cocoon) and then waited … and waited … to see it finally emerge? What an amazing transformation from a creeping crawling caterpillar to a graceful soaring butterfly!

Before the caterpillar enters its cocoon, it’s not just lying around or curled up in a ball somewhere, is it? Think of all that goes on during the long wait. It’s busily moving, finding just the right dinner table… and eating, eating, eating. It needs its nourishment to grow and to prepare for the future. I wonder if it is aware of the coming time of transformation.

What if that caterpillar, in its eagerness for that final vision, decided it wanted to skip the period of eating and growth? Or what if there was no time spent in the cocoon? It seems crazy to even consider that!

So many times in my life, like all of us, I set my sight too much on a final desired outcome. Like the caterpillar, we need nourishment to grow and to prepare. Like the developing butterfly, we surround ourselves with the presence of things that help us to become what we are meant to be. We need time to develop both physically, mentally, and spiritually. Learning new skills, gaining in knowledge and wisdom, and developing our faith are all vital pieces. They are the stuff of life, aren’t they?!

It’s easy to grumble about the need to wait, isn’t it? We impatiently shuffle our feet and are eager to be done with whatever we are waiting for… or to finally participate in a long-anticipated event, achieve our goal, or acquire some possession.

How often do we consider the process of waiting as our success and our purpose? Like the caterpillar busily eating and exploring, we take time to taste life. That reminds me of the Psalm that says, “taste and see that the Lord is good!” * We live the best we can and find contentment in Him. Even God waits! He waits for us to respond or to complete our tasks here. He waited for Noah to finish building the ark! *

I don’t often read in the book of Titus but came across a verse that says “to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait…” * Through the goodness of God, we are being transformed as we prepare for our final great transformation.

My prayer for us all is to live life fully and with contentment in our waiting.

* Psalm 34:8, 1 Peter 3:20, Titus 2:12
Charlotte-Anne Allen

Rigamarole

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Complicated, complicated
A stepping through the hoops
Oh, where did simplicity go
Where is simple logic

We scratch our head
And sigh and moan
Or wait in silent endurance
Will there ever be an end

Go over there
To arrive back here
Oh, do it thus and so
And once again repeat it please

Ah yes, we in our own vast greatness
Perhaps someday may take a breath
To look in surprised amazement
And re-discover a kinder simpler way