Seeing Beyond Depression and Fear

With the radical disruption of traditions and relationships in the American culture and the onslaught of fast paced change, the resultant anxiety has cast many into deep depression. My county was surveyed recently and nearly two out of three people living in the county are struggling with some aspects of depression. The New Testament tells us that One has come for those that are poor in spirit.

"Thief" describes the robbery of life's spirit by depression. While in the produce section of a grocery story on a bright Sunday afternoon I observed several people in the depths of depression, unable to see the cerulean brilliance of an October day. Yet, for them there are Possibilities.

There are those times when life seems so black and we feel so "Dejected" that we have no choice but to fly by the instruments of faith. It was only in the darkness of night that the wise men were able to follow His star. In "Fear II" we are reminded that stars only shimmer where there is complete darkness.

One day we will be called home, invited to our "Homecoming." There we will leave behind our fears, forgetting only our pain, and learning all the secrets of the universe.

In the depths of depression we often experience a powerful sense of worthlessness, a sense that we don't deserve good things from life. "Thief II" is a reminder of that first Easter, long ago, which established our great value in God's sight. The redemptive work completed at that first Easter season makes us eternal heirs to all good things in Heaven. In heaven their will be no TV dinners.

"Advocate" speak to the great strength we can gain from our friendships when setting out on a final journey to Eternity or continuing a journey alone. With the enablement of another, sharing complementary strengths, one can reach the stars. "Advocate" speaks of the time a dear friend prayed for me during an important milestone in my life.


Thief

Wandering among succulent possibilities,
your path crosses mine, giving me pause.

Wondering where your journey has taken you,
I search your face for life's igniting spark.

In unguarded moments, glistening with sadness,
your melancholy eyes reveal a ransacked soul.

Joy fills radiant afternoons of Indian summer,
yet your heart has been robbed of jubilation.

Astral brilliance fills empyrean canopies,
yet your spirit shivers in frigid shadow.

Once dancing to cosmic euphonies;
your life's melody has been plundered

Once you giggled with child-like glee.
Depression's malefactor has stolen hope.

Hearing only the solitude of despair,
silence screams with your anguish.


Unto us a child is born.


Dejected

Dusk darkening my disposition,
shadows fill life's valley.

Silently, mist slowly spreads,
shrouding mountains of elation.

Premonitions herald twilight;
a sightless void enfolding me.

Blinded by swirls of gloom,
memories of the Light are forgotten.

Euphoria transmuting to despair,
aureate dreams sublimate to ferrous fear.

Stumbling in disconsolate longing,
blackness conceals the Way.


His star guided them through the night.


Fear II

It's bigger then me.
I can't see around it.
It fills the horizon.

I cower under grim shadow.
It eclipses visions of light.
I can't see the path anymore.

Stumbling, I fell.
Stunned, I lay in darkness.
I looked up.

There in inky blackness stars shimmer.


Homecoming

Easter came today,
melting angst of long winter.

Dogwoods surviving darkness,
azaleas promise temperate days.

Cerulean brilliance eclipsed,
I wondered where the sun went.

Caught in a vortex of fear,
spring failed to warm me.

Uncertain of my place in life,
You invited me to Yours.

Not knowing the way,
You told me transcendent secrets.


I found a parking space.


Thief II

For you, it rains,
stars hidden in fear.

Radiance of Hope fractures,
your tears frozen in pain.

He offered you azure worlds.
You feared His price.

Heir to endless riches, yet,
bankruptcy haunts your soul.

Rare vintages in Baccarat?
You opt for TV dinners.

Order the special.
After all, it's Easter.


Advocate

Flying on the power of your prayer,
my satiated soul soars to secret Places.

A firm Hand sustains my ascension;
defying gravity's inexorable attraction.

Cobalt heavens wax star-studded ebony,
terra firma releasing me to Elysium.

Iridescent wisps in Cygnus beckon,
offering glimpse of nebular Marvels.

Obscuring Orion's opulent mysteries,
your devotion eclipses luminary wonders.

With you I can reach the stars.