This piece was written by Chris following a long period of nursing her mother in law.
I Stand Amazed
In a world full of broken trust and wariness;
She trusted me
She understood that I loved her,
She permitted me to walk the distance with her,
To describe the landscape we were travelling through,
To help her understand the incomprehensible,
And when the diagnosis took her beyond hope, she trusted me…
As we walked on water together,
out beyond the boundaries of solid ground on to an ever-changing surface.
“Am I drowning?” No, let’s keep our eyes fixed on your beloved, both yours and mine…
And out on the stormy waves of intrusive physical procedure and painful uncertainty, together we trusted our Saviour.
Then came the time, when He took her in His capable arms and lifted her to safety.
No more pain, no more hesitant breaths.
I stand on the rocking waves, awestruck by the sacred moment.
Jesus has won the fight to draw her on up, through the veil of death and into His nearer presence.
Awestruck by the sanctity of life and the preciousness of what we have shared. Grateful for the very spectral grace that we have received and the wings of mercy that have been spread over us.
Now when we sit round the table with Jesus, the remembrances will be richer, fuller, deeper…
The bitter sweet of life is more bearable because death has lost its sting.
His body already broken for us
His blood, spilt and speaking a better word that I can trust
I go forward, amazed.
© Chris Graham, Kingdom Arts May 2025
All are welcome
What is your mask today?
I am Coco the clown. I make people laugh at my antics. Facial expressions, joke, smiles and hugs, but it is a façade.
I am sad and broken but I have this one love who saves me. Compassion rolls over me whenever I meet His eye and I know he knows me through and through.
Beside me sits Leon, lion by name and lion by nature, clever, assured, confident and yet empty, heart broken by a woman, betrayed and left alone.
Yet he who sits at the head of the table gives him comfort.
He knows the gamut of human emotion and understands.
Next to me is Rosie, a widow, also left alone by death but she has faith in a new life and helps those who are in a similar position to herself. She sheds her mask to show others her hurt, her anger and her pain and yet she rises above it when she is with her Lord.
Gary is injured. He had a fight in prison and is now recovering. He killed a man but is sorry and knows he is forgiven. He is called to this special diner for the Master’s friend. The Master invites everyone with welcoming hands and loving arms.
Jacob does not know where he stands. He loves the Master but his live is ruled by ritual. What people see seems important but his heart is not in it. He wants to see true love, unconditional love despite all his errors and wrongdoing.
Pauline is experienced in men. She has had so many relationships but the Master forgives her and tells her to sin no more. She sees purity and innocence in his face but also knowingness of everything humans feel.
Then there is Lois. She is old and near the end of her life, but the Master promises her new life for ever and she waits patiently for that.
The Master picture upholds them all through thick and thin.
Sieger Koder : All are welcome.
© Julia Holdsworth, Kingdom Arts May 2025
All God’s Children
We are all God’s children.
Through His son’s sacrifice we are all forgiven,
His love includes every one of us.
He invites to His table the outcasts, the unfortunates the needy and dispossessed.
But do I belong?
His loving arms reach out
His compassion surrounds the bereft and tormented,
All cultures, colours and differences are brought together as one family.
We are all God’s children
We all belong.
© Barbara Rolison, Kingdom Arts May 2025