Poem in Your Pocket Day: April 29, 2022

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the American Academy of Poets has designated April 29 as National Poem in Your Pocket Day. Until the Pandemic, the idea was simple: people selected a poem that they loved during National Poetry Month and carried it with them to share with co-workers, family, and friends. People unfolded poems from pockets throughout the day with events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores. In light of the current COVID-19 circumstances, the celebration can continue digitally:

Here are ways to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day 2022:

• Select a poem and share it on social media using the hashtag #pocketpoem. 
• Simultaneously participate in the Shelter in Poems initiative and select a poem that brings you solace during this time of distance and solitude. Share what it means to you and use the hashtags #pocketpoem and #ShelterInPoems.
• Record a video of yourself reading a poem, then share it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or another social media platform you use. 
• Email a poem to your friends, family, neighbors, or local government leaders.
• Schedule a video chat and read a poem to your loved ones.
• Add a poem to your email footer.
• Read a poem aloud from your porch, window, backyard, or outdoor space. 

Poem in My Pocket:

During times of crisis and personal upheaval, especially meaningful poetry comes from the Book of Psalms. David, my all-time favorite poet, has provided comfort, encouragement, and strength during my darkest days. The Book of Psalms continues to be a source of inspiration as well. Despite the devastating aftermath of the pandemic, including a personal encounter with the virus, I wake up each morning abiding in the safety of the Lord, thankful for life, health, and strength, being able to express in words my gratitude. In reflecting on being hospitalized and testing positive for Covid, I am grateful to God for bringing me through that experience triumphantly. Here is a personal poetic expression, an original psalm, “a taste of the blues,” that I would like to share on Poem in Your Pocket Day:

Beyond the Dark Night of Covid

Yet they don’t ask, ‘Where is God, my Creator,

the one who gives songs in the night?

Job 35:10 (NLT)

Like nothing we’ve ever known, the Covid Pandemic gripped the world in fear

Like nothing we’ve ever known, the Covid Pandemic gripped the world in fear

Bless the Lord, O my soul. What in the world’s going on down here

Twice they rushed me to the hospital—I couldn’t believe my eyes

Twice they rushed me to the hospital—I couldn’t believe my eyes

That low-down Covid pulled a sneak attack that took me by surprise

To steal, kill, and destroy—that’s always what the Enemy has planned

To steal, kill, and destroy—that’s always what the Enemy has planned

But be encouraged and don’t forget God’s got the whole world in His hands

Beyond the dark night of Covid, we shall walk in the light of a brand-new day

Beyond the dark night of Covid, we shall walk in the light of a brand-new day

We won’t be defeated, but we will survive and thrive, no matter what comes our way

God Almighty, our Father, our redeemer, delivers from Covid and every infirmity

Even this perplexing pandemic will work together for the good, just you wait and see

We conclude with a perfect music video: Matt Redman’s “Songs in the Night”

No longer a secret, the Great Mystery is revealed

The Verse of the Day for April 25, 2022, like a beautifully wrapped package, provides enjoy a deeper appreciation of God’s wisdom and grace offered to believers. This passage reveals the concept of “the mystery” unfolded in Colossians 1:27-28 in the New King James Version:

To them, God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

Derived from the Greek word musterion, translated as “sacred secret,” the essence of “this mystery” is that Jews and Gentiles would be united in one body, the Body of Christ. This God, our Father, hid this “great mystery”  in Christ before the foundations of the earth. Had Satan known this mystery or great secret, the Scriptures declare that he never would have crucified the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. God revealed this mystery to the Apostle Paul as the context of the Verse of the Day indicates.

In the Book of Ephesians, Paul also speaks of the magnificence of God’s new creation in Christ and describes the spiritual impact that the Church, the Body of Christ, would demonstrate. Our discussion of the riches of the glory of this mystery of the one body brought to mind an original psalm composed as an expression of my heart’s desire:

Oh, To See the Mystery

‘Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you [and even show you]

great and mighty ­­­­­­­­­­things, [things which have been confined and hidden],

which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’

Jeremiah 33:3 (AMP)

Enlighten my eyes that I might openly see;                    

Expand my mind and widen my comprehension

To understand the temple of the mystery.

Teach me to fully comprehend each dimension                        

And ascertain the magnitude without measure:

Reveal to me the true length,

            though it is endless;

Teach me to find the full breadth,

            though it is boundless;

Help me to reach the vast height,

            though it is measureless;

Teach me to probe the great depth,

            though it is fathomless.

Show me your divine design for the inner man.

Make plain the purpose, the pattern, the symmetry

Unfolded in the blueprints of your master plan

For the One Body, temple of awesome beauty.

Share with me the value of this priceless treasure,

The riches of the glory of this mystery

Held in the secret places of your good pleasure.

Take my hand and lead me, as you would guide a youth,

A son who lives to explore the depths of your truth.

We close with “Christ in You!” from Charlie LeBlanc (Hosanna! Music)

Reflections on the Resurrection: Witness

The words of Jesus Christ remind us of his unique position as the Son of God, raised from the dead, who is alive forevermore.

As we reflect on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ this weekend, one of the most memorable accounts of that memorable event  is found in Luke 24:1-9:

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ²But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴And it happened, as they were ^greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

⁸And they remembered His words. ⁹Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.

I thought of this account of the women at the empty tomb which inspired this original reflective piece: “Witness”

Witness

Luke 24:1-9

The account of the women at the empty tomb

Though we did not journey with the women

In the dark before dawn that first day,

Nor were we walking, weeping with them when

Two angels spoke, nor did we hear them say,

“He is not here but risen as he said;

Recall that on the third day he should rise;

Why seek you the living among the dead?”

Though we did not see with our naked eyes,

In our hearts, we know God’s desire to bless.

Though we did not touch Christ, nor did we see

The open tomb, yet we still bear witness.

We have a more sure word of prophecy.

By the spirit, fruit of our Promised Seed,

We surely know He is risen, risen, indeed.

We close with this music video by Keith and Kristyn Getty: “Christ is Risen He is Risen, Indeed.”