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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Inspirational
- Subject: Faith / Hope
- Published: 12/30/2024
An Unexpected Bridge
Born 1978, F, from Fort Worth, Texas, United StatesI will admit there are times when I don’t understand why God does the things He does. I’ll also admit there have been moments when I haven’t been particularly joyful toward Him. In fact, recently, I haven’t been fully “all in” with God spiritually. Much of this has to do with recent events in my life.
While I can understand some of the reasons behind these events, others remain a mystery to me. Because of this, I’ve found myself feeling angry, sad, and unhappy.
But today, something interesting happened, and I’d like to share it with you.
My mother and her sister, my aunt, both love poetry. Recently, my aunt reached out to my mother asking for a copy of The Creation by James Weldon Johnson. My mother asked me to bring her a book of poetry she owns so she could look for it. Together, we searched through her collection, flipping through pages, but the poem wasn’t there.
Determined to help, I searched for the poem online. When I found it, I copied it into an email and sent it to my aunt, letting her know it was from my mother.
Although I had heard of the poem before, I had never actually read it. Out of curiosity, I saved a copy to my computer and decided to read it myself.
As I read each line, vivid images formed in my mind, almost as if I were witnessing the birth of the world. It was a breathtaking experience. When I finished reading, I paused and decided to have a conversation with God.
I said to Him, “I don’t think You were just lonely when You created the world. I think You wanted to create something You could be proud of. And when You created humanity, it was because You wanted to share everything You made with us.”
As I spoke those words, I teared up. For the first time in a long while, I felt a renewed perspective on God’s love and intentions. I was reminded of how blessed we are—not just because God chose to share this world and universe with us, but also because He gave us His Son, Jesus.
Of course, there will still be moments when I feel puzzled by life’s events, when sadness and questions will resurface. But today, God did something amazing. He used a poem to spark my imagination and help me see the wonder of His Creation.
Amen.
An Unexpected Bridge(Kanesha Andrews)
I will admit there are times when I don’t understand why God does the things He does. I’ll also admit there have been moments when I haven’t been particularly joyful toward Him. In fact, recently, I haven’t been fully “all in” with God spiritually. Much of this has to do with recent events in my life.
While I can understand some of the reasons behind these events, others remain a mystery to me. Because of this, I’ve found myself feeling angry, sad, and unhappy.
But today, something interesting happened, and I’d like to share it with you.
My mother and her sister, my aunt, both love poetry. Recently, my aunt reached out to my mother asking for a copy of The Creation by James Weldon Johnson. My mother asked me to bring her a book of poetry she owns so she could look for it. Together, we searched through her collection, flipping through pages, but the poem wasn’t there.
Determined to help, I searched for the poem online. When I found it, I copied it into an email and sent it to my aunt, letting her know it was from my mother.
Although I had heard of the poem before, I had never actually read it. Out of curiosity, I saved a copy to my computer and decided to read it myself.
As I read each line, vivid images formed in my mind, almost as if I were witnessing the birth of the world. It was a breathtaking experience. When I finished reading, I paused and decided to have a conversation with God.
I said to Him, “I don’t think You were just lonely when You created the world. I think You wanted to create something You could be proud of. And when You created humanity, it was because You wanted to share everything You made with us.”
As I spoke those words, I teared up. For the first time in a long while, I felt a renewed perspective on God’s love and intentions. I was reminded of how blessed we are—not just because God chose to share this world and universe with us, but also because He gave us His Son, Jesus.
Of course, there will still be moments when I feel puzzled by life’s events, when sadness and questions will resurface. But today, God did something amazing. He used a poem to spark my imagination and help me see the wonder of His Creation.
Amen.
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Denise Arnault
12/31/2024Like you, I have never spent much time on poetry. This is a failing of mine and not the poets. Poetry compresses so much into so few words that I never take the time to try to understand it.
I am glad that you found solace in this poem, and very glad that Barry mentioned Robert Hayden. It is always good to have people recognized for greatness.
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kanesha Andrews
12/31/2024Thanks Denise. The only other poem that took my interest was "She Walks In Beauty" by Lord Bryon. But, "The Creation" definitely helped me.
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Barry
12/30/2024Here's a great poem for you.
Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
Sundays, too, my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I'd wake and hear the cold, splintering, breaking.
When the room was warm he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house.
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of loves austere and lonely offices?
Robert Hayden was the Afro-American Robert Frost, quite possibly the greatest black poet. He rose to greatness
through extreme poverty and person suffering and is one of my personal, literary idols.
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kanesha Andrews
12/30/2024Because I have a curious mind. I went and looked up this poem after I read it. Quite powerful once I learned the meaning behind it. I do, sometimes have an interests in poems...but I haven't quite found one yet that speaks to me personally. But, who knows now that I have read this one and the one I mentioned in my essay, perhaps I will dive more into poetry.
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