Thoughts From the Forest

When the burdens of heart are weighty,
When conflict and questions surround
And the gloom of soul will not be banished
By dawn of day or light of Word
And all around seems dark,
Then beckons the sunlight: “Come.”

And so I come,
Leaving behind the din of city,
The clamor of neighbor and passersby,
Through the village and beyond the river
To wander the wood and field
Where the stream in the woods urges on.

So on I go, deeper into the trees
Away from machine and man
‘Til the breeze in the leaves whispers “stay”,
To listen and wonder, to see and to ponder,
Where there is not silence, but quiet,
Not stillness, but rest.

And there I would stay, till the sun is high,
‘Til the wind’s shifting tones bid me go.
Though fain I'd remain, away I must go
To a world of demands and needs.
Yet as I leave, the load has been lightened,
The grey whitened at last,
Joy restored, anxieties calmed
By the voice of the One who sees.

Genesis 16:13: “So [Hagar] called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”