ann kiemel

only today
have i been able to read
all your beautiful comments and
thoughts. and see the contributions
some of you sent.

it's like salve on a wound.
a fresh morning sky.
friends surrounding me with love.
hope after darkness.
joy after fear.
despair followed by promise,

thank you for being in my life.
for loving me. reading my simple blogs.
running at my side. sharing your sorrows
and struggles, too.

when i can't go anywhere,
i can't find people who need Jesus.
encouragement. truth. love.

tell people around you that God loves them.
standing in the grocery line. or someone
waiting for the bus. speak it. people will
be utterly changed. trust me. completely
in awe. God loves THEM??!!

needing a car isn't nearly as difficult as
needing a new heart or kidney or liver.
or longing for a wandering child. a prodigal.
or having to move out of your house of 25 years,
and not knowing where you will go. but,

it's been hard.
haven't been to the gym in 6 wks.
or here to do blogs. alone. and i keep
trying to blot out the terrible memories of that
van suddenly in my face. crash. crunch. glass
breaking. rolling around and around. not knowing
when or if my car would stop.

i am absolutely positive that
my heading out the door, and then,
dropping everything, and going back in
to have my quiet time made all the difference.
i cannot remember EVER being filled with such
a sense of serenity as i did that morning the second
time i headed out the door. and that peace never
left me through the entire crash. i think it kept me
from tensing up and receiving severe injuries.

"Jesus paid it all.
all to Him i owe.
sin had left the crimson flow...
He washed me white as snow."