The Newest Angel

"A penny for your thoughts" seems like all I've been saying to God lately. What with the earthquake in China, the cyclone in Burma, the devestating tornado's here in America, and the devasting loss of three precious children of Christan Singers Todd Smith, Nicole Sponberg and Stephen Curtis Chapman, I just have to stop and wonder what God is thinking.

He's certainly got my attention. What are you trying to tell me thru these tragedies, Lord?
How can I make a difference in the lives of these hurting people?

My prayers, even if I prayed all day long, seem so insignificant in the midst of so much suffering. Sometimes words even if they are prayers don't feel powerful enough and I just have to get my hands on something before I can feel that I've helped in any way.

While I'm in waiting for my next "hands on project" I will just have to be satisfied letting my fingers do the work here on the keyboard. My hands are yours Lord. Use them however you wish.

I have been reminded the last few weeks of a poem I memorized as a teenager. My mother who belonged to the "Book of the Month Club" got a poem book one day entitled The Best Loved Poems of The American People. I was so into poetry and I kept the book in my bed stand and read it over and over. My favorite section was the Memory and Grief Section. Morbid? You bet. But after all I was a teenage girl and we all know how much they like drama!

The poem I memorized was called PRAYER FOR A VERY NEW ANGEL, by Violet Alleyn Storey. I would read the poem out loud and break into a wail of tears. As I have been feeling the pain of the Smiths, Sponbergs and Chapmans this week I decided to post the poem as my prayer for all the new little angels in Gods kingdom.

God, God, be lenient her first night there.
The crib she slept in was so near my bed;
Her blue and white blanket was so soft,
Her pillow hollowed so to fit her head.

Teach me that she'll not want small rooms or me
When she has You and Heavens's immensity!

I always left a light out in the hall.
I hoped to make her fearless in the dark;
And yet, she was so small-one little light,
Not in the room, it scarcely mattered. Hark!

No,no; she seldom cried! Please God, not too far,
For her to see, this first night, light a star!

And in the morning, when she first woke up,
I always kissed her on her left cheek where
The dimple was. And, oh, I wet the brush.
It makes it easier to curl her hair.

Just, just tomorrow morning, God, I pray,
When she wakes up, could you do things for her my way!

Violet Alleyn Storey