To Those Who Have Gone Before

Monday Missive #52

A Milestone: To Be Celebrated

This is my fifty-second Monday Missive! One year ago today, I decided to post  on Mondays a poem I have written, an original prayer, and a passage of scripture - all for reflection during the week. This is a day of celebrating these past fifty-two weeks. It is also a day to say "Thank you!" to those who have read my Monday Missives over the past year. God is good! God is gracious! If these postings have inspired or uplifted anyone, the glory goes to him!

A Poem: To Those Who Have Gone Before

We owe who we are
To those who have gone before;
The trial blazers,
Trudging through muddled days
And darkened nights;
The risk takers,
Walking into the unknown,
Eating untasted mushrooms;
The mountain climbers,
Scaling slippery slopes,
Of doubt and despair;
The visionaries,
Seeing a future
No one else could fathom;
The  rule breakers,
Who dared to say “no”
To oppression;
The rule makers,
Who created order
And freedom;
The question askers,
Whose curiosity
Created new ideas;

We owe who we are
To those who have gone before;
We owe whom we will become,
How we will live,
How we will walk in this world,
To those who come after.

A Prayer: Lord, Teach Me How to Walk

Father, as your child,
Jesus, as your brother,
Spirit, as you guide me;
Show me how to walk
In a manner worthy
Of my calling;
In the way that glorifies you,
In the truth of who you are,
In the life of a saint,
Set apart as holy,
Different from the world.
Show me how to walk
Where you lead,
Where you go before,
Preparing a way in the darkness.
Let me today and forever
Walk in your your light,
As I shine it into the world.

A Passage: For Reflection this Week

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
-- Hebrews 12:1 NLT