For the Love of Ruth*

It is not me that they've laid to rest.
I am not that which lies in sleep
Among the bed of roses deep.
And though they linger long and weep
O'er that which once I was, they seek
Me where I am not.

Not here I'll find my final rest,
But flown away on angel's wings
To heavenly fields where I will sing
Of Him who died for me and rose again
And healed me with a crimson stain --
My Savior and my Lord

My soul long rescued from this shell,
Whisked away to lighter plains
Where no more sorrow nor terror reigns,
Where cloudless days neither wax nor wane
And sunlight rules o'er all supreme --
At last at home with God.

© rno 8-18-2005 St. Louis, Mo.

* "Why do you look for the living among the dead? " Luke 24: 5

Faithful Doubting

Oh lonesome heart, which cries for filling
Of the empty spaces,
Can desire be changed to willing
Receipt of that which can't be earned?

I burn
To see and touch the face
Of Him who -- emptied and poured out upon the place
Where I should have been
Sacrificed -- was torn and spurned.

And yet when I turn
To catch a glimpse of that great One
Who walked where I should have gone
My doubts and fears, concerns and cares
Reduce my faith and still I yearn . . .

I need not touch your side or hands,
Nor linger at your feet. Those wounds
Are etched into my memory. Bound
Tightly in my thoughts the One I seek
Eludes me in my shifting sand.

Come satisfy my hungry heart
And feed the longing in my soul.
Restore the brokenness to one whole,
And in that moment make me Thine
As once I was under Eden's Star.


© rno 8-3-2005 Roanoke, VA

Communion's Portal

At Heaven's Gate our Lord does come
And there our Christ does meet us.
Bread and drink He there provides,
Which mightily sustains us.

We are bid to enter in
And there receive salvation;
A mighty throng of saints from old
With their strong voice surround us.

With those now here, those gone before
Lift hearts and minds and spirits
In grateful praise to Christ Our King
For that which now He gives us.

© rno 8-1-2005 Roanoke, VA