Xapa to the World

Category: Missions

My heart is out there, hence, my poetry is as well.

Poem: Beautiful Feet
July 25th, 2005

I’ve looked at the mountains many times
And been captivated by their beauty.
They stand majestic over all of creation,
Looking down, casting a shadow on the land.

My heart’s dream would be to climb
And hang on the very top, shouting out –
Shouting out God’s glory and praise to the world.
No doubt my feet would be dirty and pained,

But You’ve called them beautiful! These feet,
They’ve carried me halfway around the world for You.
They’ve walked through mud, dirt, filth, water,
Anything You’ve placed before them.

But the Message empowers the body
And any pain I feel is only the aching in my heart
Of wanting to climb that grandiose mountain.
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”

– Sarah ><>
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July 25, 2005
Poem: Faded Glory
May 26th, 2005

This place which You created,
The earth I call my home,
Is a beautiful workmanship
That calls me out to roam.

Every eyeful I receive
Brings my thoughts closer to You,
But it’s all a faded glory
You’ve told me this is true.

No matter where I go
I see it and I know,
There’s something greater set apart
For this race of man, dull of heart.
I hear it in my ears,
And I feel it in my tears,
Both we and earth were made for more
and so this heart of mine implores,

Take me to the place
Where Your glory’s clearly seen
Where my heart is just as rest –
Yes, I know I’ve never been

But it’s right where You are
And my heart won’t hold the scars
Of the brokenness I felt
When I left You and fell.

– Sarah ><>
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May 26, 2005
Poem: In Her Eyes
This piece was written in response to the 2004 tsunami. I think I’ve explained this poem before, but since I’m going through all my work, I better go through this one as well. I didn’t really have a particular person in mind, except for a small Indian girl. In my mind’s eyes, she was standing amidst rubble and refuse that had been brought up by the floodwaters. The look of sadness has permeated every part of her, but especially her face and her eyes. The eyes of a child that young should never be sad, and she has experienced some of the deepest sadness in the world. I don’t know if she lost someone who she loved, but more than likely she did. If anything, she is torn apart by the sadness surrounding her. Here’s the poem.

January 18th, 2005

In Response to December 24th, 2004

My Child, why are your eyes
So sad and low?
The water flowed and washed
All your joy away.Once deep and tranquil,
Two drops of love
In a sea of brown,
Now murky and red.Where have all your tears gone?
Back to the sea
Inside your heart where they
Stay behind the wall.Grow, my dear, to smile again
And laugh with glee;
Dance beside a gentle sea rocking
Now calm and serene. – Sarah ><>
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January 18, 2005
Poem: Babel, O Babble
January 10th, 2005

The sounds of mine
Humble me to the ground
Making me beg for patience and compassion
The many tongues utter mutual nonsense
How did we ever get this way?

The voices in unison
Oneness of thought
Brought Man to his proudest moment and vanity
Toppled by Your might and power
Why did You do it this way?

Now pleading a case
Ears deaf to words
The sounds fail to communicate
Hearts are hardened to the coal-covered diamonds
Will You provide the way?

– Sarah ><>
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January 10, 2005
Poem: A Christmas Song
December 5th, 2004

My Savior as a baby
I think on this tonight
A child so filled with wonder
A mother with delight

     How could it be
     This King of mine
Would leave His lofty throne?
     And come to us
     And dwell with us
His glory to be shown

My rescue in a cradle
Made soft by cloth and hay
And sung to by the cattle
A stable’s glad array

     What song to sing
     Oh Precious King
The world awaits to hear
     A treasure now
     And all shall bow
For glory has come near.

by Sarah ><>
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December 5, 2004
Poem: Dive
October 25th, 2004

Looking at this pool
So deep and so broad
Yeah, the waves look rough
And the bottom so far,
But a glimmer and shine
Sparks a light in my eyes
My heart skips a beat
But I sit back and sigh

I can sit at the edge
Throwing my feet in
The foam tickles my ankles
And beckons me in
But just when I feel
It’s time to begin
You’re pulling me back
From the waves once again

Oh why can’t You let me dive?
Why can’t I run and try to reach for the sky?
Why can’t I just fly?
I know it’s Your heart
I know Your command
But why not now, Papa,
Why can’t I dive?

I can see the field
Parts white as snow
No one is gathering
So I grab my bag to go
But a wall comes between me
And the wheat sitting there
So I toss it back down
And watch the wind blow

Oh why can’t You let me dive?
Why can’t I run and try to reach for the sky?
Why can’t I just fly?
I know it’s Your heart
I know Your command
But why not now, Papa,
Why can’t I dive?

I just want to serve You
I just want to go
Though You hold me back now
Someday, it’s Your plan
You’ve got it much better
Than I comprehend
And yes, Lord, I’m anxious
But with You, I’ll stand

– Sarah ><>
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October 25, 2004
Poem: Bring Us Together Again
August 13th, 2004

It’s so sad
To be leaving these faces
They were my home
For such a long time
A piece of their heart
Has filled in the space that’s left
From the piece that they took
To call their own

Papa, You are in control of all
And Your hand directs both hearts and time
So if Your heart is willing
Bring us together once again

It might not be soon
Or even this lifetime
When their faces I’ll see
Coming near
If You’d have it be
In heaven I’ll greet them
And Your glory we’ll see
With hand in hand

– Sarah ><>
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August 13, 2004
Poem: My Macedonia
This poem is based on my personal life experiences as well as an occasion in the Bible: Acts 16:6-10. In this passage, Paul is desperate to get into Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit won’t allow him to enter into that countryside. So, they (Paul, Silas, and possibly Timothy) go down to Troas and there Paul has a dream about a Macedonian man, beckoning Paul to come down to him. Paul determines that God wants them to minister among those in Macedonia, so he goes…it’s there that he meets Lydia, and she and her whole house are converted.

The place where it seems God has not and will not allow me to go is Nepal. I’m not sure why, but I think that door is shut to me, and my only impact is on lives here in the US and prayer. BUT, God has replaced the burning passion for Nepal with a dream and desire for China. This is my poem to that…describing the oddity of such a transfer of feelings. It’s beyond my will, but I know that I must go.

May 26th, 2004

These dreams of mine
I give to You
My heart and eyes
Settle on Nepal

Yet my ears hearken
To a shushed voice calling
Still, not weak
Steady from the East

My eyes look north
But are drawn eastward
As if in a dream
Where is it from?

My foot steps north
Yet falls in the East
My arm reaches north
But is grasped from the East

Macedonia has a new face
The eyes, thin
Faces yellow
Eyes yearning for love.

Sarah ><>
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May 26, 2004
Poem: The Oak and the Cardinal
I was sitting in my car at a park and I was watching a cardinal fly from the branches of a bunch of the trees in front of me. It made me think of a poem, and here it is. I was just about to head off for my big trip in a month or so, therefore a message was on my mind, Missions. The seed of the Gospel, those who stay, those who go…the necessity of both. Enjoy.

May 25, 2004

A rush of wind
Urges the trees to move forward
The stubborn branches grasp their leaves with resolve
The roots go deep
Settled from long ago
Dare to move the great oak.

“How I long to be a bird,”
Says the lowest branch.
“To fly so freely,
To be swept away, carried by the wind.”

The cardinal lights on the branch,
Plucks some seed from its clutch.
One falls to the ground where the tall oak stands.
The rest flit off with the cardinal,
Finding a new home
And new soil.

Sarah ><>
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May 25, 2004
Poem: Broken Body
March 17, 2004

*For Larry and Jean Elliot, Karen Watson, and David and Carrie McDonnall

You say we are a body; we all make up You
Is that why I hurt inside
When I hear this news?
They were Your fingers; they were Your toes.
My soul aches to have lost them.
Yet Your body is complete.
Satan breaks it, but You make it whole.
He drives nails through it,
And a spear in Your side, breaking Your heart.
But You are forever, and forever reign.
Thy will be done down here.
Prove Your mighty plan…
A broken body here on earth
Is finally restored in Your glory!

– Sarah ><>
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March 17, 2004