you

I serve you in the shadows
slipping from deed to deed
always within sight of you
yet hiding
when you look my way

I love you with the fervor and faith
of a child toward her father
trusting you are there, knowing you are there
but
I cannot look you in the eye

I am so very weak, and sad
I find in myself treasures
which I seek to offer you
but they crumble into dust
when your light pierces my darkness

I stand there, tears streaming
embarrassed, heartsick, grieved beyond words
the kindness in your eyes
only crushes me more
for I cannot even receive it

Then you do the kindest thing of all
you turn your gaze away
I scurry back to the shadows, and service
knowing you know I love you
although I do not deserve yours in return


(c) 1996 susanna l. cornett

Why

Crisp, cool, a breeze rustles through
newly budding trees
Soft gentle blue envelopes the sky
as puffy clouds slip lazily past

You ask why I believe in God
why my heart speaks His name
why I love Him with my soul
why my life seeks to obey Him

The earth in all its symmetry
speaks, not loudly, not harshly
but with unceasing persistence
of the mind of a Creator
who must have seen glory in a hummingbird's wing
delight in the infinite crystalline kaleidoscope of snow flakes
humor in a platypus's awkward beak
heaven in the first tentative smiles
of a newborn baby
nestled in his mother's arms

A Creator who made this beauty
and then someone to share it
still again - someone to share with the first
creating love

You ask how I love this Creator
How could I not?
Like a wise and tender Father
He leads me through my life
He does not tell
He asks
Sometimes I say no
even when I know
His way is best
He loves me anyway

If I had a son
I would love him more than parched earth loves rain
than daffodils love spring
than life itself
my soul withers at the thought of giving my son
to anyone, for any reason, to cause him pain
but my Father did that
for me
How can I not love Him?
For otherwise, I would die.

You ask why, and how, I love my Father
the Creator, Jehovah, God
I ask you, how can I not?
When He is my best friend
even when I have been
no friend to Him.

He wraps me in His arms
He offers me His shoulder
to cry on
and He loves me
all over again.

(c) 1996 susanna l. cornett