#51 FAMILIAR GONE
Jane Phinney: I’m not exaggerating when I say that everyone I know carries an unusual burden of relational sorrow.
FAMILIAR GONE
No words
No tears
I can’t breathe
Pressing fears
Scattered emotions
Mixed-up thoughts
Sudden loss
Hearts distraught
A ticking clock
Time moves on
Silence screams
Familiar gone
You were here
Now you’re not
Roaming eyes
An empty spot
Jesus sees
Embracing pain
Earthly sorrow
Heaven’s gain
Healing wonder
Bits & pieces
Sorrow lessens
Joy increases
Abiding HOPE
He bestows
Raining mercy
Faith exposed
Death defeated
Life begins
Daily victories
Jesus wins
I scribbled this poem early one morning in August of last year. I was crying & shattered by the loss of life around me. All I could pray was, “So much sorrow, Lord!” While processing physical deaths in that month, I also became aware of a very real spiritual demise that resulted in relational deaths. I concluded that though there are many forms of death, physical isn’t necessarily the worst. Painful? Absolutely! Hopeless? Never… for anyone who has believed & received the Lord Jesus. Loving is part of that loss. But on the flip side, death in relationship, that yields ongoing loss, can leave you depleted & disillusioned by the sifting of trying to figure out what happened.
So yesterday, when another relational/spiritual loss was delivered like an arrow to my heart, I felt numb…& stuck… by my inability to process aloud. I reread Familiar Gone…again. Why? Because God’s Truth is a balm to my soul when I have no words. My notebook lies open, on the corner of my desk, to the page with these scribbles. I can’t even count how often I’ve gone back to those inspired words that remind me Who wins.
It’s sobering, & heartbreaking, to realize that the overall familiar that’s gone, in our culture, is the honor & respect due the Lord God Almighty. As our Creator & Redeemer, losing focus of His loving sovereignty quickly causes a downward spiral to death…of one kind or another. I watch it daily because it’s everywhere. I’m not exaggerating when I say that everyone I know carries an unusual burden of relational sorrow.
I’ve read Second Timothy, chapter 3, for years. I used to say that verses 1-9 read like a bad movie. Now I see that the movie is real & present & spiritually dangerous. Given the detailed description of deceived people who refuse to submit to God, is it any wonder that we are in turmoil while watching lie-driven choices unraveling lives? BUT GOD does not leave us stranded in this sorrow. Verses 10-17 are a Truth-filled rally, a call of encouragement that continues through all of chapter 4. I need these reminders often! As indwelt believers, our Familiar is eternal & never gone! We can know sorrow but still live in His hope & peace in our souls.
“In my prayers I keep asking the God of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the glorious Father, to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you will have full knowledge of Him. I pray that He will give light to the eyes of your hearts, so that you will understand the hope to which He has called you, what rich glories there are in the inheritance He has promised His people, and how surpassingly great is His power working in us who trust Him.” (Ephesians 1:15-19) So be it unto us, dear Lord!
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