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I wrote this poem because this is something that I've been thinking about for a long time, and this is just... how it came out of me.  I know it's not that great (I'm not much of a poet), but I hope that it conveys what I meant it to convey... So, any comments would be appreciated, and if it was just kind of confusing, then... I guess... I'm sorry that it was so long.  ;)  If anyone would like to talk to me about my thoughts more extensively here, I'd love to share what I've been thinking... but for now, hopefully, this will suffice.

Thanks to all who take the time to read it!

--Naomi

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There was once a girl who lived upon a rock
 in the midst of the great blue sea,
and every day, with a pencil in hand,
she'd sketch out a dream of greenery.

She had a dream of something so beautiful
that the very thought of it took her breath away;
and she'd look out to sea, with white mists all around...
 and to be a part of that dream, she'd pray.

She longed for the meadows and swaying green grass
to dance 'round her feet in a warm summer breeze;
She wished for that part of the world so very much,
that she'd hide sorrowful tears in her sleeves.

But one day, she stepped out with her pencil in hand,
and sat down upon that great stone. 
She looked up to the sky, and said, "Lord, who am I?"
"...That with all that I have, I'd moan?"

"I've been so very blessed, with this home of my own,
which is steady and strong by the sea,
and although sometimes I wish for something beyond,
I am grateful for what you have given to me."

She said with her heart what she knew to be true,
even if for the meadows she longed,
and she wanted to be content with what He had provided...
and to understand where He had her, she belonged.

And so as she gave it all back to Him,
she felt a sweet mist from the water,
that washed her with joy, in its own gentle way,
and its peace quickly swelled up inside her.

Those tears that had fallen in longing for meadows
soon turned into tears of pure joy,
and then as she gave her life back to Him,
a voice from behind said, "Ahoy!"

"I've found you at last!  I've searched high and low,
and I've braved the great storms of the sea
to bring you this letter, it's addressed with your name,
and to hear your reply is my duty."

Do you know what that letter contained on that day?
Well, I don't think that you'd ever guess.
It was a beautiful poem that described a rich land
with meadows and woodlands... and rest.

It was all that she'd imagined, and much, much more--
and at the end, it marked her by name,
and said, "This poem describes in detail those things
that for you, My child, I have claimed."

"You have desired to follow Me here on the earth,
even though what you have now, you might not have chosen.
For this your desires have been stored up above,
as you've given Me all your devotion."

With a tear in her eye, and a smile on her lips,
she turned 'round to thank that dear man
who had endured so much to bring her this poem;
but... it seemed, he'd already gone.

Confused for a moment, by this sudden disappearance,
she looked around that place to find him.
But then something in the air revealed to her there,
that on that rock, he'd never actually been. 

He must have been an angel, or else a wonderful dream
that had come to her from heaven above.
But forever it changed her, that day on the rock,
as she felt from it the meaning of love.

"Thank you dear Lord, for adjusting my eyes,
and for helping me to better understand
that by letting go of myself, I can much better see
the beauty of what You have planned."

And do you know, when she spoke those words,
she learned to see the joy in her current surroundings;
she came to dearly love that house on the rock,
and in her heart, the love of her Creator was abounding.

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I tell you this story, I want you to know,
because I think that it has a lesson to teach.
It's a story from my heart that I've learned through my life,
and I want very much that you too, it should reach.

I have seen in myself how desires can grow
from the things that you've seen all around you.
So mine have formed, and I've waited with anxious patience
for the day when those dreams will come true.

But, in my waiting, as days have stretched into weeks, and weeks into months,
I've grown restless just waiting around
and I've wanted so much to be given the patience to endure the wait
 with my feet firmly planted on the ground.

I've wanted to wait, as I felt it was my duty,
for the time that my dreams long desired.
But then I realized one day, as I choked back my tears
that my waiting was not really required.

Waiting, you see, is a way to build patience,
and yes, we should all strive to do it.
But waiting and wishing, well, that's not quite the same
as it takes our minds away from what God can do through it.

Waiting is the time in between those great moments
that fill us with laughter or tears,
it is the time that we have to grow as God's children
and to prepare for the trials of coming years.

 Perhaps He is waiting, our God who grants wishes
for us to open our eyes and see,
that He wants us to actively steward what we HAVE
so that He can shape us into what He needs us to be.

And then, when we're ready to receive those desires
that have filled our hearts for such a long time,
after lots of working hard, and preparing what we have,
He'll declare us as able to steward that gift He'll assign.

Over the past little while, I've been reflecting on the way that we can see God in the world.  The ways that this world reflects His presence... the ways that we, who are made in His image, prove the existence of God in just being who we are. 

I guess I've been thinking about it because there are SO many different types of people in this world.  We all have different talents and abilities, and despite the billions of us that exist, there are not any two people in the world that are exactly alike.  We are all different.  And yet... we are all made in the image of ONE God.  Isn't that amazing?  We have dancers, and singers, and artists, and comedians, and actors, and chefs, and graphic designers, and seamstresses, and florists, and decorators, and scientists, and figure skaters, and all sorts of other things. 

We have those wonderful people that claim that they have no talent--  those people that we all love like crazy and want to strangle every time they say that they're not good at anything.  Those people that keep us laughing, that keep us loving each other... the glue that keeps us all together. 

Then there are also those people who are born with a simple mind... people who will never be able to develop their brains in the same way that most of us can, but when you talk to their families, you begin to see how much of a blessing those people are to us.  They are the ones that keep us humble; they are the ones who teach us that child-like faith is the strongest kind of all. 

These are the people that surround us.  These and many, many more.  And ALL of them are different.

And yet... they are all made in His image.  All of them.  Every single one!  It's incredible to think that God has instilled a piece of Himself into each and every single one of us.  Some of us contain his eye for beauty, and can mimic the glory of a sunset in a painting.  Some of us contain his love for people, and have a wonderful way of shining His love into the world through their actions.  Some of us contain His sense of humor... and we all know that He has one.  ;)  Some of us contain more than one of those glorious attributes which adorn the character of our Creator.  But... none of us have them all.  He is perfect; we are not.  He has the complete package of perfection... and we do not. 

Isn't it amazing?  On our own, we display one (or more than one) aspect of His existence.  With Him inside, we can fit into His perfection by using that piece of Himself (our talents) in us to shine His light into the world.  We can display HIM, and ALL OF HIM, when we let Him shine through us... and that piece of Him that He has woven into who we are sings into the world of His presence.

Wow.

I am in awe.  Of His image.