i asked You for happiness
ease and delight
i asked for green fields
and to walk in the light
so You brought me down low
to a place underground
where the walls closed me in
and new giants were found
i asked You for strength
and for so much more faith
for the muscles to run
and to finish this race
so You mapped out a plan
gruesome as it was grand
and You walked with me through
holding tight to my hand
i asked for still waters
You gave me the storm
i asked for smooth roads
but rough alps were the norm
i asked You for quiet
for peace and no strife
so You came in guns blazing
and tore up my life
i asked for desires
near and dear to my heart
but my heart so deceitful
had to be ripped apart
because You weren't content
with the stench of defeat
and dead bones cannot rise
when they’re sealed in concrete
i asked for one bud
just one bloom in the ash
but You had better plans
You had gold in Your stash
and You wanted much more
than my mind could engage
for my tiny, small part
of Your much grander stage
so i bow to You now
lift Your name to the sky
for Your plans were much better
than any i’d tried
i asked You for dirt
and small toys to enjoy
i asked You for happiness
but You gave to me Joy
This is a poem I wrote last year when we were still trapped in Turkey, struggling to get our daughter’s adoption completed. I’ll admit to you, that was a season I had to grasp pretty hard to encounter joy. After eight long years and a series of miracles, we made it back to the States in 2022 and were able to celebrate the holiday season with family and friends. I can say that today, the JOY is much easier to find.
So true of life, Jodi. So thankful He gave you Joy. Your beautiful poem reminded me of another poem, David's Psalm 23, as he describes refreshing times when, "He makes me lay down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters" as well as those hard times when we, "walk through the valley of the shadow of death". We know for sure, "goodness and love will follow me (us) all the days of my (our) life".
Thank you Jodi for sharing your heart