poetry

Sasha Krause Update: A Poem for Her Killer’s Mother

Pray for her...and mothers still raising their little ones

Welcome home, Sasha Krause

So two mornings ago, on April 21, detectives arrested Mark Gooch for the homicide of Sasha Krause. Gooch was serving as an airman at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix, AZ. The 21-year-old is from a Mennonite family in Wisconsin, but I gather he never chose to serve the Lord. Whatever the case, he now stands accused of murder.

I really appreciate the short poem about his mother, written by…I don’t know who. I have two sources, and they don’t agree. One attributes it to a lady in the Wisconsin congregation; another, to someone in the Farmington congregation. But never mind that — here you have it: Read it all

I Am Now Done With Covid-19

Coronavirus and the virus of fear right inside us

I am now done with Covid-19.
The news and the models are not what they seem,
The frenzy, the hype, the expert decree,
Do not synchronize with re-a-li-ty!

The sky is not falling, no war-planes above,
The children are wond’ring why all the hubbub,
This thing has a name – and it’s not a virus,
It is called fear – and it’s right inside us! Read it all

“James and Orpha, Come Home!”

Where we see an abrupt summons, God has seen a precious, long-scheduled event of glory.

At the vibrating buzz, I flipped open my cellphone…

James Smucker was killed

James Smucker was killed in an accident last night
and Orpha is in ICU. They were visiting Wisconsin.

I stared. Icy fingers squeezed my heart, bent my mind, twisted my emotions. How do you process a message like that? Rereading it carefully changed nothing.

My spirit reached out to the unerring Father, petitioning for His best for Orpha. He answered with exactly that. Read it all

For Aching Hearts in the Cold Night

My heart still aches, Father; night is not past;
But in the cold and in the void I hear Your voice at last:
Is there any way that you could trust My love,
My life in you, My promise from above,
That joy comes in the morning, that beauty comes from pain?
Can you hold on one moment longer? Is there any way?

Read it all

Above all, love God!