On this last blog for 2022, I'm honored to share a poem, along with a brief introduction, written by one of our ACSD teachers, Bekah Smith.
Psalm 40:1 - “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”
This past spring I found myself in a season of deep, restless waiting. I was particularly unhappy at my job, and was unsure of what path was in my future. I was also seeking answers from God on situations that I so desperately wanted to work out, but they weren’t, and I was feeling completely out of control.
During this same time, I found myself seeing small encouragement where I worked. For years I worked at a retirement home, and on one particular day I was walking through Skilled Nursing (where residents need 24/7 care) and realized that so many of the residents have spent their whole lives in restless waiting, looking to God for guidance. Even now as they live in their final years or days, they don’t look to Him in fear of the unknown, they look to Him in thankfulness for the life and the hardships that He has given them.
In my life I tend to gravitate towards words to express what I’m thinking, feeling or going
through, and so when I was in this deep period of waiting I wrote a poem that reflected the
questions I had, but also the encouragement that I was seeing around me. I hope it can bring
some encouragement to you as well.
Oh Lord, my hands are folded in front of my chest
Like I’m seven years old again
And I lift my eyes up
Oh, how I wish to see You in this place
Of restless waiting
Today I walk these halls
Following my footsteps of yesterday
Crying out to You
Can you hear the cries from my lips?
Are You here in this place
Of slow, longing wait
For a time and place that is more glorious than this?
The faces I see
Etched in my memories,
And I can finally see You in this place, today
My cries to You
Have already slipped from their lips
Their spirits have been quieted by Your time
And here they lay down, and look up
With their hands folded on their chest
To glorify You in the waiting
Oh Lord, You have been so good to them
Oh, how they have waited to see Your face
During the waiting
Welcome Your dear children as they run,
Run into Your arms
Tears of sorrow will someday turn to tears of awe
My cry Lord,
Is to see You in this place, tonight
In the waiting
Like a child kneeling in prayer,
And like someone who closes their eyes
To see Your face for the first time
Artwork by: Janelle Taylor (BCS Parent)
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog and pray for Alliance Christian School District! Lord willing, I plan to publish a new blog post weekly on Wednesdays throughout the school year. Feel free to subscribe (at the bottom of this page) if you'd like to be notified each time a new blog post has been published. We also have a prayer team that is always open for new pray-ers to join. If you'd like to learn more, email me at cwarner@alliancechristian.org.
~ Carrie Warner, ACSD Prayer Team Coordinator
Soli Deo Gloria
To God alone be the glory
