Originally published Wednesday, 28 April 2021.
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:5 NIV
When rain falls like tears
Drenching parched landscapes
I know God sees my heart
When flowers burst like hope
Brightening winter’s decay
I know God is faithful
When clouds hide the sun
Like worries obscure peace
I know I need my God
When tree branches sway
Towering timbers give in
Displaying God’s power
Clouds hold back angry, black
The storm they unleash
Destroys all peace
Tempest surges
Until stillness again appears
Raindrops falling falling falling
From sky of gray
A steady rhythm on the earth
And still words won’t come
To express the dampness
of my soul, the gloom
in my sunless heart, the sorrow
like puddles in the mire
And still tears don’t come
For I fear they will wash away hope
And without hope is a place
I cannot bear to go
Another day dawns with sun
Bright and warm, mist rising from
Drenched landscape
I see at last
God allows grief without
Relinquishing hope
Linda L. Kruschke is the author of My Name Is Beloved, winner of the Unpublished Memoir category of the Oregon Christian Writers Cascade Writing Contest, as well as a self-published author of two poetry books. She is a wife, mother, active member of her church, former Bible Study Fellowship leader, and recovering lawyer. She works as the Director of Legal Publications for the Oregon State Bar. But her real passion is sharing God’s healing grace with others, especially those haunted by sexual trauma and abortion. She struggled with major clinical depression for many years, but through the power of forgiveness has become a fearless follower of Christ, living in the assurance of her salvation and God’s love. She blogs at Another Fearless Year and Broken Believers.