Whatever is Pure - September 2009
September 2009
What Should I Call You?
I Will Change Your Name
(D. J. Butler)
I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, outcast
Lonely or afraid
I will change your name
Your new name shall be
Confidence, joyfulness
Overcoming one
Faithfulness, friend of God
One who seeks my face.
Copyright © 1987 Mercy Publishing
Having lived with a progressive disability since birth, I have had many labels attached to me - some of which are no longer politically correct. Over the years I have been addressed as crippled, feeble-limbed, handicapped, physically challenged, disabled, visually impaired, a person living with a disability and the list goes on. Until I received a definite diagnosis of Charcot Marie Tooth Disease through genetic testing, neurologists referred to me as 'a patient exhibiting congenital, progressive neuropathy of the peripheral nervous system.'
If anyone asks me how I wish to be called, my standard cheeky response is to say, "Just call me Katherine, and if you know me well, I answer to Kath."
However, as a child of God, I proudly accept the labels he has stamped on my being for all to see. I am his beloved child, I am the salt of the earth, I am a friend of Christ, I am a slave of righteousness, I am a prisoner of Christ, I am chosen of God and dearly beloved. I am so much more this earthly shell and yet God loves this earthly shell of mine, with all it's frailties and quirks. I gladly cast off the derogatory names I have been called by others and myself as God gently reminds me that I can no longer call myself anything but His own.
If you are much like me, you may find the following web page, "Who I am in Christ" helpful as a reminder of your new name. While you are there, browse through the rest of the website, created in the hopes of being an encouragement to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
© 2009 Katherine Walden
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Somebody's Child
When they classify me, define me, judge me, stereotype me
When my place in the world depends on the hues in their eyes,
-those hues that prevent them from seeing beyond the superficial
When I seemingly fail to reach their heights,
Meet their mark,
Tick their boxes,
Do they know? Do they realize? Do they ever stop to think?
Does it ever cross their minds?
That beyond the depths of my skin,
Buried underneath my color, my handicap, my poverty ia
Somebody's Child.
When their impatient steps tread over me, kicking dust in my face
As they clamour to reach those that color within their lines,
Those whose handshakes are gold, those on the right side of the line,
Those who hold the world at their feet,
Do they know? Do they care? Do they ever skip a heart beat?
Do they maybe - just maybe?
Stop to realize that the dust on their feet fell on
Somebody's Child.
When they clasp hands and form circles of friendship,
Can their blury vision see the lonely face at the fringes of their circle?
When haughty laughter fills their lungs, do the streams on my face sober them?
And in the still of the night, safely tucked in the comfort and luxury of sleep
Do they know? Does it matter?
Do they lose a wink of sleep?
In the knowledge that somewhere in the depths of a cold dreary night,
Somebody's Child lies awake.
Do they know,that whilst self consumes them,
A Father - a loving Father - has taken time to give
Somebody's Child...
a name - an eternal name - that endures beyond the earth.
And whilst they hasten in their daily business,
This Father- this loving Father- has taken time to count every single strand of hair on
Somebody's Child.
He has promised that this child will neither starve nor go unclothed
After all,the world and everything in it are His.
And whilst in a frenzy,they jet set to grasp the wealth of the world
This Father- this loving Father- has patiently whispered his promises of riches eternal,to...
Somebody's child.
You must contact the author for permission before using this poem or forwarding this poem on to your friends and family via blog, email, message board or via any other printed or electronic format.
Worlds Apart
EVERY DAY, God shows us our imperfection -
by giving us an imperfect world.
Men with pride, and a world of governments.
Men with deception, and a world of ways to fall off high mountains.
Men with anger, and a world of volcano's.
Men with tempers, and a world of earthquakes.
Men with confusion, and a world of thick, dark rain forests.
Men with hate, and a world of hurricanes and tornado's.
Men with lust, and a world of deserts.
Men with greed, and a world of floods.
Men who are wild, and a world of wild animals.
Men who get drunk, and a world of waters for drowning.
Yes, EVERY DAY, God shows us our imperfection -
by giving us an imperfect world.
However.... INSIDE this imperfect world is yet another world -
of perfection and of beauty and of miracles.
The perfection of an atom.
-of a dry seed planted.
-of the balance of the heavens.
The beauty of a rose.
-of a hummingbird.
-of a sunset.
The miracle of life.
-of healing.
-of the cross.
Only God creates.
Only God heals.
Only God can.
Yes, INSIDE this imperfect world is yet another world -
of perfection and of beauty and of miracles.
Isn't God showing us something?
Do we have eyes?
Isn't God telling us something?
Do we have ears?
Hasn't God proved something?
Do we really know?
Imperfection to show perfection.
Imperfection to understand perfection.
Imperfection to prove perfection.
Can we see the picture here?
Do we hear the message?
Will we ever understand?
Imperfection to perfection.
Outer flesh to the inner heart.
By grace through faith.
Man blames God - but God is Love.
Man sends big earth movers - but God sent Jesus.
Man yearns - but God holds.
The outside world of flesh - to the "heart" of perfection.
Hell and damnation - to everlasting life....
World's Apart.
©2008 Louis Gander
Power in Weakness
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
For my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore
I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so
that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s
sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Cor. 12:9-10 (NIV)
Violent blasts of the harsh winter storm were targeting the tall, willowy pines across the street. I feared the old evergreens were doomed to destruction since the gale seemed relentless in her anger. However, I watched in amazement as the spindly trunks bent far in one direction, then the other—appearing to actually dance with the gusts rather than become victims of the raging wind.
Even though the trees seemed frail and helpless to me, it was their apparent weakness that gave them the power to withstand the onslaught of the tempest. The small diameters of their trunks gave them the flexibility to bend with the wind, and thus not be broken. Seeing the strength of the pine trees was in their weakness reminded me of Paul’s lesson--his weakness allowed God’s strength to be available.
In 2nd Cor. 12, we are told Paul had prayed three times for "a thorn in my flesh" to be taken away. Whatever this infirmity was, it tormented Paul, yet God chose for Paul to keep the "thorn," assuring Paul that through his own human weakness, God’s power would be manifested. So Paul was glad for his weaknesses and hardships because he wanted Christ’s power to be the strength of his life. Two thousand years later, with millions of Christians now all over the world, we see how magnificently Christ’s power was manifested in Paul’s weaknesses. How many Christians would there be now if Paul hadn’t allowed Christ’s strength to empower him to preach and write the Word of God?
It seems difficult and unusual for us to boast of our weaknesses, ailments, or disabilities. However, in admitting our infirmities, turning them over to God, and asking Him alone to be our resource and strength for living and witnessing for Him, we will become Kingdom vessels. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God can use us to reach people lost in the dark, hopelessness of a world that denies God.
Dear God, use my weaknesses and inabilities to manifest
Your power in me, that a lost and dying world would be saved. Amen
You must contact the author for permission before using this poem or forwarding this poem on to your friends and family via blog, email, message board or via any other printed or electronic format.
As of May 2012, "WHATEVER IS PURE" ARCHIVES will no longer be seeking submissions. As most authors and poets now have their own blogs, we noticed a significant drop in submissions over the past year and felt it was best to move on to other endeavors.
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