poems 98a

1. Dragging our Chains behind us
2. Truth is Fallen
3. His Jewels
4. I Know Why the Caged Lion Roars
5. Or the Golden Bowl be Broken
6. Keep those cleaning supplies handy!
7. Thine eyes shall see the King in His Beauty
8. To Them that Perish
9.  A Tale of Two Trees
10. Stubbornly clinging to Christ
11. The Spirit's Whisper
12. Despising Small Things
13. Jail-break!
14. Prone to Preen, Needs Pruning!

Dragging burdens
As a heavy chain;
Too stubborn to
Ask for help again.
Embarrassed to
Lay them at His feet;
Too proud to admit defeat.
Though the chain is more than we can bear
We haven't learned to cast our care
Upon the One who
Cares for us.
We lack the faith;
We lack the trust.

Engorged with burdens,
Python-like,
That chain is wound
About so tight;
At last, we cry;
He hears our plea!
And instantly, we're free.

Lori fiechter
1-6-98

"...for truth is fallen in the street..." Isaiah 59:14

Truth is fallen in the streets
And the crowds just pass him by.
Will no one stop to bind his wounds?
Does no one hear him cry?

People glance, but look right through him;
They deny that he exists.
"Truth is relative"--and they're no kin
Of this rigid dogmatist.

"For even if he is real,
We have no more use for him.
We each can make our own truth now
And shift the paradigm."

But, look--someone stops to pick him up
And helps him to his feet.
The masses throw their stones and hiss,
"Just leave him in the street!"

"Truth is fallen! Truth is fallen!"
They shout with wild glee;
But the day of judgment looms
And only Truth could set them free....

lori fiechter
1-11-98

I prefer to learn my lessons the easy way whenever possible. I know better than to pray for things like patience, for instance! And yet, it seems that often God uses difficult times--trials and troubles, sorrows and suffering--to draw us closer to Him and to purify us. Look at any of the great men and women of faith in the Bible--Can you think of any that had an "easy life" with no testing? (Joseph, Daniel, Ruth, Esther, Hannah, Moses, David, Abraham, Paul, etc. etc.) And so I suppose that it is with us as well....

We don't begin as diamonds
But as lumpy chunks of coal.
Pressed and heated beyond measure
We are but halfway toward our goal.

As rough, unpolished gems,
We face the lapidary's wheel:
Abraded, cut on every side;
We've lost too much, we feel!

We were carefree chunks of graphite:
Soft and smudgy, black as sin.
He saw us as gleaming diamonds:
Sparkling white without, within.

We may not like His methods;
We may disdain His tools;
But that is how all lumps of coal
Become His treasured jewels.

lori fiechter
1-6-98

malachi 3:17, james 1:2,3

"Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" I Peter 5:8

The lion roars and shakes his mane,
Threatening to devour you whole.
This beast is ravenous as the grave
And he's after your very soul!

But for you, he is caged;
Though he paces and roars
He can't really harm you--
Just stay away from those doors!

Though he purrs oh, so sweetly
Don't get close to that cat!
He's a lion--no kitten--
And he'd eat you like...that!

You're no match for that beast;
Just a morsel to chew.
...But he trembles and quakes
at that Lamb next to you!

lori fiechter
1-14-98

After we pass the midpoint of the average lifespan, each encroaching birthday seems like a "Post-it Note" of our own mortality. But if you are alive and kicking, there is still time to make each day count for Christ. Start now.

We think ourselves rocks
(and more like granite than schist)
But we're vapors--mere shadows--
And we vanish as mist.

Time sifts through our fingers;
Too soon, we grow old.
Our years turn like pages,
As a tale that is told.

Looking glasses bemuse us;
We conclude they must lie.
(For that wrinkled reflection
is much older than I!)

We have sharp disagreements
With this entity "Time":
We would like a "pause" button,
Or perhaps a "rewind".

But Time presses forward
And it drags us along;
We cannot reclaim
All those years that are gone.

Yet...we do have today,
While that silver cord's tight;
Come on, vapors and shadows--
Let's work while there's light!

lori fiechter
1-12-98

Ecclesiastes 12
Psalms 39:4 and 90:9-12
James 4:14

Clean heart;
right spirit.
neglect..
Dust and cobwebs.
cleaning time again:
dust rags, furniture polish
a long-handled mop for the high corners.
Clean heart;
right spirit.
neglect--again!
soap and water and...blood.
stain remover and scouring pads--ouch!
don't ever give up on me, Lord!
(and keep those cleaning supplies handy)

...will I ever learn daily maintenance?
(sigh)
it's called sanctification.......

lori fiechter
2-4-98
Psalm 51

(Acts 17; I Corinthians 1:18)

(Josh. 23:8, Deut. 4:4, Acts 11:23)