Monday, October 22, 2007

There You Are


I open my eyes
and there You are
The touch of the wind on my face
The sun on my skin

I hear You in the songs of the birds
I taste You in the salt air
I breathe You in

I see You in the colors of the sea and sky
Brilliant and incomparable
I think of You
and You are as close as my breath

In this moment I wonder
How can I ever feel alone?
And yet, at times, I do

How is it that You can be so close
I know You are here always
and yet, I feel longing?
emptiness?
incomplete?

Perhaps it is that You are here
and we are playing hide and seek
You are so close, and I do not see You

Or maybe my senses have dulled
distracted by busy-ness and life
or deceived by religious lies
about You or about me

But then I realize, once again
You have been here all the time
There You are!

Even though You never left me
I have missed You so
Help me keep my eyes on You
as You hold me close for eternity....

(c) 2007, J.A.D.

14 comments:

gerbmom said...

Back at ya Jeff, I needed this too. I enjoy reading your poetry. And I can relate to most of what this says. ...
karen

Cindyisms said...

Greetings Jeff,

Beautifulness! I savour this imagery you created of playing hide-and-seek with The One Who Always Seeks us. I think it's something so many of us experience and what comfort in knowing we are cradled in Him at all times. God bless and best wishes to you and yours!

Peace & Love,
Cindy

dudette77 said...

Good thoughts, Jeff.
I've thought about this much of late, as a good friend from high school died suddenly last weekend, leaving a wife and a beautiful toddler behind. The family is so crushed right now, struggling with the 'whys' of such a sudden loss.
It is times like this that I wonder why God made us such creatures of physicality, needing to feel and touch to experience...and yet the Everlasting arms we seek can't be physically felt. In the eyes of faith we can trust they are there, but in sorrow we need such a huge God hug and yet can't feel it for real.
I can only assume that God never wanted it that way either, that His plan was to walk and talk with us in the cool of the day. Adam and Eve's sin messed that plan up. Is that safe to assume?
I've been to the very very dark places where faith is a struggle and believing is nigh to impossible. The comfort of the everlasting arms just didn't seem too real. But in retrospect I know now they were there....or else, frankly, I wouldn't be here!
Anyhow, thanks for sharing your poetry, awesome stuff!

GoteeMan said...

Karen -
Thanks for the encouragement. I hope you are doing well.

Cindy -
Sometimes I think it's His favorite game! I was reading several years ago in John, where it says Jesus had told his disciples to "walk in the light while the light is among you", etc... then it says "He went away and hid Himself from them for a time"... I wondered why? so I asked Him. He said it was to see what they would do with what He had taught them. Interesting... I think He still does today.

Margy -
It's really hard to understand some things in this life. Maybe we will never know til we see Him face to face. Some times seem so very dark and depressing. I couldn't understand at all why Kimberly Ellis died a few weeks ago, or why my Kim has been through so much suffering, pain and sickness... I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I do know WHO holds it in His hand.
About your question - I don't know, but I believe in my heart that the sin issue was snuffed out by the sacrifice of Christ, and no longer is in play as far as separation. I think, instead, perhaps He allows us to get to the end of ourselves and the end of looking for answers in everything else, while waiting and watching from just around the corner. Watching over us and seeing everything, loving us and longing for us to come around the corner looking for Him?

Blessings! and Namaste! to all of you....
J/

Brittany Hogan said...

awesome. beautiful thoughts

GoteeMan said...

Britt -
Thanks for stopping by, and for the encouragement. Hope you are well.

Blessings! and NAMASTE (which means, as closely as it can be translated, "the spirit in me honors and respects the spirit in you")
Jeff

? said...

What a heartfelt poem, Jeff. I often long for God, too, despite knowing He is always with me. The day to day shit often clouds my ability to feel Him. Of course I know that my faulty sense of God is my own problem. I'm human. And so are you. ;-)

GoteeMan said...

BB -

Good to see you here! Thanks for the encouragement... I wonder, are we humans having a spiritual experience, or spirits having a human experience, or both, or neither? LOL

J

Queen of the Mayhem said...

What a lovely poem!

I hope all is well with you!

GoteeMan said...

Queen - Thanks so much for the encouragement, and for asking about us. Kim is scheduled to have a test dose of IVIG (IV ImmunoGlobulin) on 11/15, then we start it at home the next week. Thankfully, insurance is paying for this treatment! Please pray that we will see significant improvement.
Namaste! (The spirit within me honors and respects the spirit within you)...
Jeff

Brett Elizabeth Spore @theworldisee said...

I was referred to your blog & poetry by Kim from Kansas. Truly enjoyed the poem. Will check back often for sure.

P.S. Thanks for reminding me to (c) my stuff. :0)

Brett Elizabeth
(http://obi-mubiana.blogspot.com/)

GoteeMan said...

Brett -

Thanks for dropping by - glad to see you here. I will post more as I have time... lately, life is crazy again. My wife has a chronic debilitating illness and we are working through treatments. Over 5 years now.

God bless -
J/

Kim from Kansas said...

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

? said...

Merry Christmas, Jeff! I hope you and your wife are in good health.