1. At The Oasis
Overwhelmed by a myriad of “to do” lists.
You heard my cry for help and threw a rope,
Then pulled me out of the quagmire,
To safety, to this oasis, to this Holy Ground.
And as You soothed my questions and doubts away
From my furrowed brow,
You told me how much You loved me
Not then, not in the future but now.
As You showed me the creepers and trees,
Both needing props alike,
A new world opened up
I saw how they waited in sunshine and rain
And saw birds on them alight.
I saw the growth at the heart of being!
For You are God of the universe,
Who rested on the Sabbath day.
To work myself into a frenzy –
Is certainly not Your way.
And as Your peace entered into my soul,
I could feel once more your healing touch,
Taking over my cares and woes,
Oh Lord, thank you so very much.
With your help, I shall learn to let go and
Trust you!
To breathe deeply and to relax,
Knowing I am not in control but you,
My role is just to trust you and “chill-ax”
It is You, not I, who are in control,
Who will overcome all fears with Your love,
Filling me with wonder at Your mysteries, unfolding,
Slowly in the time that it takes for me to grow
To be the rose and to blossom forth
To be, let go and like an eagle soar!
2. Surrender
In the silence of my beating heart,
Despite all the noise around me, I surrender all
In the pain of a needle, in my mind I see
The nails they drove into You and kneel in awe
Despite noises around me day and night,
Despite the fears that come and go
The storm abating and the roaring wind
I keep the silence, knowing that my hand You hold.
You are in control; Lord, and You tell me to wait
As You work Your miracle in me.
Because I know You will not let me drown-
I keep the silence …
Alone, yet not lonely
Enveloped in Your warm embrace;
Cocooned safely from all outward forces
I move in perfect serenity,
In absolute surrender,
Grace upon grace,
Calm upon calm,
In the crook of the shepherd’s arm
I rest in total trust, safe from harm.
3. With A Grateful Heart
This poem was written when I received the news of some medical issues in my blood test report including a big jump in my tumor markers. Overnight, my world turned upside down. Questions plagued me as suddenly I realized that my health had suddenly gone out of control, the main one was of course, what if this is going to lead to something more serious. What was worse was that there was nothing I could do about the tumor markers in terms of Health supplements or health routines. I had to leave it to the Lord, I had to lift it to the Lord.
3 months later after several tests and storming Heaven, I received the ALL CLEAR, something I did not dare to expect! My feelings of relief led to this poem of Praise and Thanks! I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to my family and friends who supported me in prayer and were His most willing angels and my companions in Faith. This experience, this cannonball brought about in me a 180 degree turn towards this loving God whom I had taken previously for granted and to whom I was always saying ”not yet” to.
I asked, I pleaded, I prayed
And You answered fully, generously!
Why was I surprised? O woman of little faith
Did You ever abandon me?
And so now I am here
At Your feet and on my knees
To say thank You and to commit my days to You
Lord by Your grace,
Give me the courage to do what You ask of me.
Take me, mold me that I may get to really know You
To trust You and to reflect You in my life.
No more “what ifs”; no more “buts”
Just show me, Lord, the path
You have prepared for me
With the gifts You gave.
To give back but a small measure
To be first Your child, Your eagle
To soar with the Holy Spirit above the earthly things
That hold me fast,
To let go and let You lead
To listen with my heart,
To Your will for me
For this doorway is the only way
To peace and to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
4. Affirmation
Opening windows of my mind
To share with others God’s salvation
Through all the times of my life,
Feeling A Savior’s redeeming touch.
An idea affirmed and validated,
A stirring of the heart that the Holy spirit emboldened,
An invitation from which I cannot turn.
Your eyes are upon me each time I look,
My heart no longer needs to run from You-
Affirmed and re-affirmed at every turn,
Lord, You have shown me just how much You love me!
And tonight in the transfer of the Eucharist
How blessed I was
That You stopped right in front of me and waited
Till humbled, I went down on bowed head, hands and knees
To thank You and adore You as
My Lord and Master
My God, My Father, my ALL!
Holy Spirit who leads me on
Through all the people around me.
You have spoken and I have heard
Through thunder and rain cooling my senses
In Nature; the timely cure of my back pain just today.
I have felt Your presence and was
Able to stand erect and serve You.
Truly You are God, and I am Yours.
Dearest Lord, I come to listen
Give me the grace to do Your will.
5. Beyond The Grey
On a dismal morning, through the drizzling rain
I looked out and spotted a flower on the fence
Tall and straight it stood as if reaching for the heavens
Calling out brightly to me from my bed of pain
Encouraged I saw once again the lesson nature taught
From a grounded creeper can grow a flower in vibrant red
No matter where we are, grounded in God
At every turn on our road,
To give glory and praises well wrought.
And in that beautiful sight against the clouds and rain
Can come a lesson to look up, not down
To see His love beyond ourselves, our pain
To count our blessings and give thanks
Reaching up to Him, beyond the grey.
And now the rain is gone, the sun shines once again,
The lesson I have learnt when He reached out to me
See now the flowers blooming well, after the rain
So shall we grow, strong and beautiful once more
After the pain.
6. Dialogue
God meets us where we are,
And all we must do
Is open our hearts to listen
Reach out to Him; cry out “Lord”
And He is there.
“Thank you” and He answers
For He loves a grateful heart.
“Lord please, its heavy”
And He responds, “I am with you,/
Not now/ ,in My time/ My way, trust Me/
Very, very soon”.
Suddenly the sun shines again as He tells you,
“Surprise! I am the good Shepherd. I have rescued you.
How far you have wandered… But never too far for me!
My sheep – you heard My voice and returned
To be in My love.”
“Speak, Lord”
And He answers, “Now a new commandment
I give unto you
To love one another
As I have loved you
By this shall you be called my disciple“
On a quiet night, when your heart is listening,
an invitation comes
“I have loved you
With an everlasting love
And I will keep loving you
Are you ready? I am inviting you
Will you come into my boat?”
With beating heart, I answer
“With your Grace. Lord. Yes, take my hand.”
7. My Prayer
One day’s crosses and one day’s tasks,
I try to shoulder these, Lord, for that is all You ask.
Day by day, I pray that I may hear You and then heed
Your whisper in my soul to find the strength I need.
At every moment, may I seize the “present” of this day ;
Let me not regret the past or worry today away.
A trial, I know, may simply be a blessing in disguise,
So help me look for miracles right before my eyes.
Time will tell the pattern which You weave with love divine.
Grant that I may help create Your grand and glorious design.
8. Look Beyond
Silent and strong You stood,
Outside in the pouring rain.
Open to receiving the showers of blessing
While we only looked out through the windowpane.
Be still, He said, and know
That I am God – through the storms of life
Let Faith and Hope be your refuge.
Take courage in Me, through this time of strife.
So I surrender this moment to the Lord
Knowing that this too shall pass.
And through the days of rain and pain,
I grow stronger and gain a deeper trust.
And as we learn to look beyond,
Lord, use us to bring others to know Your name.
As Lord and Master, Savior, Friend
One with you, as King and Priest and Prophet to proclaim!
To take each moment and listen to His voice,
Teaching us not what but how
To live, to serve and how to love
Strengthening our roots till He says “NOW!”
9. Striving
Resplendent flowers on a tree,
In my mind, the phases where we want to be,
As I looked at the boughs bearing them,
Birds flew by and nestled among them.
In my mind, the phases where we want to be,
While shelter they sought, in the middle,
Yet it was near the highest bloom that they took flight
and flew up high and free.
I found my answer then, of where I would like to be-
So that others like me, reaching out to Him,
can one day from that position
Take flight into His very arms –
In soul and in spirit,
In our hopes and God filled vision!
10. Growing Older
Like the rest of life, there are no reruns, and no preps
We wake up one morning and lo and behold!
We are old or older than we thought.
The brisk pace, the abilities have evaporated!
Our bodies feel like age has taken its toll.
We move slower, think in circles and know less
The ” Whys” and the “What” pile higher!
Like a car going downhill, we pick up speed
without knowing where we are going!
Not that we were ever in control,
Yet, we cannot pretend we are in control any longer.
And we ask- where is God in this new “normal”?
We lie -open eyed in bed, bewildered
Clinging to the knowledge that
He sees our struggles and frustrations,
Our fears and uncertainties,
Hanging on to Him who is now the still point
Of our “faster” turning world.
Ah Lord, stay indeed with us –
As we let slip the days into your hands, your love,
As we remember and remember not,
Keep us at least grateful so that we remain,
Loved, Gracious, a little witty,
Not labelled as “to be avoided”, not hated.
Watch over us continually, Good Shepherd,
till we come to rest
In Thee
11. A Heavenly Sight
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ISAIAH 55 v 8-9
What a sight to behold!
Like Cotton candy,
Drizzled across the horizon
Each aspect uniquely arranged
God’s paint brush at work!
Reminding us to look to the Heavens
For the miracles we need,
For only God can create
Wonders such as these ,
In such awesomeness and variety.
Just like us, unique
Images of God,
With different needs,
Requiring different strokes
Along the way.
Look to the skies
Look to me ,He says,
Believe, be inspired,
Surrender IN TRUST.
Amen , Lord , Amen.
12. In the Quiet- A Christmas Poem
In the quiet, where no one stirred
A little child was born.
Away from the overcrowded town,
Surrounded only by the flock.
In the quiet, a bright star shone
And led the shepherds, cold, forlorn
To a humble manger, where
this God Child quiet lay.
In awe, they knelt and prayed,
then with hearts full of love and warmth
In quiet wonder went away.
So quieten your hearts and
kneel in homage too –
For this child cannot be heard, unless you
In the silence of your mind and heart,
Listen to Him too.
For speech he does not employ,
but with his own tiny little hands
A Godly welcome makes , showing us
The Love that God through ages bore-
Who could not bear it anymore
But sent His only Son to Be
His Love made flesh for you and me.
King of Kings and Prince of Peace
To bear our sins, yet sinless He
In fallen pose, we kneel and pray
Paying homage with our hearts made still,
far from the mad city’s rush
Of celebrations frantic in their pace.
Our pretence and fears are swept away
Replaced with Faith and Hope and Trust
He commands and we obey!
Like Mary, with her fiat, we say,
“Baby Jesus , Word made flesh.
Thrust aside our busy-ness
O come, O come Emmanuel,
And stay with us
And speak of much needed Love,
in our quiet. ”
13. Yours
Life is not ours to ask for or to take,
But, in your mercy, Lord, to give.
We can only ask for grace,
giving you homage and praise,
Dear Lord- forgive,forgive,forgive.
In humility, we come to you..
Creatures us, Creator You.
Always giving, always living,
Life that you create anew.
Lord, do not forsake us we pray.
For more, for less, we dare not ask.
But pray in all humility,
To complete the race, the task you ask
Of us your child.
O Saviour, true
Remember Lord
This speck, this part of you
and make it wholly yours. Amen
14. Questions and Answers
In every phase of life,we have questions.
Sometimes, we seek answers from the Lord
The answers are not always what we want to hear,
we turn away bewildered and dismayed. Most often he says,”wait”,
But we don’t listen.
Wanting an instant solution
in our own way.
His is a gentle discipline,
which in time we will understand.
Lord, we find it so hard
To accept your answer and surrender to Your way.
Now in the evening of my life,
I still have questions.
Lord, let me trust that
You have the right answers.
for Your way is not our way
your thoughts are above our thoughts.
Teach us to be silent with you,
to hear your voice within us, in others,
In Time revealed,
God’s wisdom shown,
as old wounds are healed.
Lead us as we view sunrise
and sunsets as beauty untold,
And fill our days with gratitude
as we wind our way home.
We know that Heaven cannot be earned
It is Your grace and mercy so freely given
to us, your children that will bring us home
because You are love and You are GOD. Amen
15. We can trust
We cannot see, we cannot know
How plans, dreams and hopes can
In an instant turn to dust,
Through wars, illness, others’ acts and Nature’s thrusts
Yet ,we can learn to choose to trust
despite disappointment, hurt and loss,
to find strength and our future in Him,
That gives meaning to what must be,
to worse fears of what is to come.
Decide to grope for peace amid the chaos and he heartbreak,
Of lives cut short in their prime.
what does He ask?
when crisis comes in quick succession,
unexpectedly and in different ways, to turn to Him
cling to His understanding,
In prayer and in unquestioning belief and praise,
Like Job *, accept that He who giveth takes.
Forgive us Lord, when tears arise from our present plight,
when nothing makes sense on human terms,
we look for help, not within sight,
the future seems dark and hope more frail
,when we come so close and almost want to give in,
to give up the fight.
With your strength, lift us to reach
That Love through all eternity,
Shining through the mist of suffering,
Telling us that this is not the end-
and we can rise to climb again
As we cling to you, against all odds
To pray, to pray and trust in You-
Our Saviour, Eternal ,True- ,our God
Who never, NEVER lets go of us, of me.
AMEN
*cj Job1:21
16. Time and Space Enough(another Christmas Poem!)
Time to do what we want to achieve
Space for all our clutter of presents and feasts,
We rush around preparing for Christmas,
Afraid that we miss what to us
Is something that matters. Like the Innkeeper, we don’t have space,
Nor time to prepare much needed and so special
for the coming of the One,
that is the reason for the season..of Christmas!
We push the Lord to the manger of our lives
A forgotten corner, neglected and among the animals that serve our needs,
instead of making time and space in our hearts- the centre of our being!
He is the one who should have the best
time and space of all our decorations
-the Centre of the Tree!
Indeed to prepare our hearts First and foremost
should have been our primary task!
Like Angels who were stirred and focused,
To sing out loud Our Hosanna for baby JESUS- God’s gift to all
Alone worthy of our attention
in the midst of Time and Space, Our heartiest welcome!
To sing ” O come, O come Emmanuel “
save us once more from our distractions.
May we not give “just enough” but ALL
Of the rooms in our hearts!
Let us Adore Him in all of our being-WORD made FLESH ,SON OF THE FATHER !
and keep singing with the Heavenly Hosts -HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST! GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO!
WELCOME home, here in our hearts to stay Baby Jesus, AMEN
I
17. A Perfect Love
When we forget to thank him,
for the many graces given,
Blame Him for the world’s ills,
Not seeing with eyes of Faith, the future He plans:
when things appear to go wrong,
and in impatience we demand,
That it be according to OUR will
and in our time-
Do we forget that He is God?
Unable to trust that He Knows best
fretful of our own efforts, we forget
Not “we” but He is in control.
When fear grips our hearts for those we love,
In anguish we turn to Him for mercy,
Forgetting that He is our Father and,
despite all, He loves us in every moment
and in every way, and is there even before
we are or can be.
He does not let go, never turns away;
understands our mere mortal anxieties,
and waits for us to realise that Yet He loves-
the patient, forgiving love of a Father for His children-
not holding anything against us,
the Love that gave us life.
Often rejected and spurned and neglected,
and yet He loves us ALL THE WAY.
as only God can love,
and invites us home for all eternity.
My soul, embrace Him as He deserves,
– Believing, Trusting and in Surrender
to the Perfect Love that makes us whole,
to give ourselves to Him
in heart and mind and soul. Amen.
18. Epiphany
They came to You,
these 3 Kings from Orient Land,
Journeying over fields and mountains, arduously,
for 2 years, following a star,
that led them through hill and dale.
Focused on one purpose, Lord-
to find You and only You- the Saviour of Mankind
Firm in Faith and singleness of purpose.
their King, Emmanuel, God with us.
Filled with awe and wonder
and in wisdom that leads to humility,
to kneel to pay him homage,
and then to wind their way home,
blessed, uplifted in truth and Love,
to say to others” I have seen God divine and human,”
to never be the same again.
May we ,too,
learn to keep our eyes
on the star, till they rest on you
and may that light of the Star
Fill our hearts fully as
Humbly, on our knees we bow
to pay you homage, our King,dear baby Jesus,
and invite You to come with us,
back to where we must be,
to serve those you have given us.
Please, Lord, hear our prayer and keep us
clinging to you through thick and thin,
to keep our eyes on you till that day
when we meet face to face,
as we call out “ABBA,Father”
Where there will be no more fear
And all to gaini n Heaven,
when vision becomes reality
And our mission is fulfilled, to hear the words,
“Welcome home, my good and faithful servant”
AMEN.
19 Seek Ye First
So many of us seek miracles,
believing only when prayers are answered.
Like Thomas, we first ask for proof from this loving God,
Who says, “happy are those who
have not seen, yet believe”.
It is in seeking first His Kingdom that gives us peace,
thankfulness in Him that shows our hearts the way,
and only when we believe,
Can we find strength and comfort to go through each day.
Humility in admitting our guilt
Bring tears that flow in repentance,
Which then brings healing, in His mercy
in His way, in His time, through our acceptance.
So let us not ask, like Martha ” Lord, do you not care? “
Instead, wholeheartedly choose the better part at His feet,
So that one day when face to face we meet,
We can say in our hearts,
Yes Lord, I believed-
In all, for all and despite all,
with all that I am,
I have and will continue to trust,
in your Love and Grace, to deliver me till I am fully home!
Yes my Creator, my Saviour, my Lord and my God –
You alone are enough for me! Amen.
20. Relentless Hope
We think we have freedom till we realise,
We have lost our direction, without You as our purpose.
Stripped of our pride, ashamed and lost, we hide from you like Adam,
yet You search for us to redeem our souls,
To rescue us from ourselves.
Often, disillusioned, we turn away
Not believing that You can save us, yet still,
Lord, we cry, “in mercy and love, redeem us.”
Often, we give up too easily, thinking we are a lost cause.
We need to have the courage, to be relentless in our prayers,
like the Canaanite woman asking for crumbs from the Lord’s table;
Like the widow, who kept pestering the judge,
till he got tired of her and granted her wishes.
We need to keep on petitioning You,
in humility, in our anxiety and our distress.
for our needs and our loved ones.
“Come down, Lord,” we pray,
“My son is ill” and knock on the door until He opens –
In faith, in love, in Hope.
Remember- this loving and merciful Lord,
will not only give you what you want,
but promise you so much more.
So, reach out, touch His Cloak,
walk on water, call till He hears and turns to You.
Seek him endlessly -with sincerity, with total surrender,
With repentance and with perseverance, for all we seek.
We cannot do more and we should not be content with anything less.
Like Moses and Abraham who waited in Faith interminably
To whom fulfilment came long after-
40 years after receiving God’s promises.
We stay on our knees, in Faith, for His answers and His miracles
for the stars in the sky and the sand on the beach –
Because we are His children and He
In His time and way, will not let us down.
This is the God who will give us a future with Hope #
A God full of Surprises, who will not let go of us until the end of time.
Amen.
#Jeremiah 29-11: For surely I know the plans I have for you, plans for you welfare and not for harm- to give you a future with hope.
21 Holding On
I hold on to You when days are dark and dreary
Along long and winding roads,
I hold on to You because You have my back,
You who made me, grew me and know me through and through,
You who trusted me to find You in time
Why? Because until we can trust, we cannot let go:
Until we let go, we cannot Love
And that is your way..to Love
And in the end, it is Love that keeps me
Holding on to you,
For without you,
I am nothing and you are the great I AM.
You who created me and gave me life
And breathed forth your spirit in me,
it is You, Lord, who hold on to me,
Listening to the rhythms of life
in my heart and innermost being,
who knows what I need and provide even before I ask,
Thank you, Lord, Amen.
22. Loved as we are
Loved as we are,
with all our faults and weaknesses,
He brushes these aside,
Our fears, our misgivings, our blocks.
We just have to receive His Love,
His forgiveness 7 times 77,
given freely to us, without “ifs” and “buts”.
To receive in thankfulness,
His generosity-not earned, in full measure.
Know that He chose us,
Not because we are perfect,
But because He made each of us, unique
And He Loves us specially for ourselves.
He wants to shepherd our souls
To our salvation, what He made us for.
In return, He asks us to follow Him,
As still ‘ work in progress’,
allowing Him to show the way
With humility and a willing heart,
And his assurance to be WITH us
Till the end of time!
To Trust, in Hope and in Love, because He made us;
In His image and His likeness,
To walk on water and say,
“Yes, Lord, I believe that you Love me
and will help me to do Your will
Hold my hand, help me to walk with You. “Amen.
“…remember, I am with you always, to the endof the age.” Matthew 28:20
23. Child of God
Wow, Lord , what a title –
To remind us we belong to You; to God our Father!
How special we are to know that you have bound us to yourself,
This privilege, bestowed on us with the Love to know
it is not one -upmanship that counts;
to take off our blinkers that make us
Blind to our brothers and sisters around us.
Instead You ask us to look behind, and alongside to see
the ones who are journeying with me.
It is an uphill climb which we cannot complete alone,
that cannot be done with anger, pride and denial in our hearts
but in humility and grace untold,
with enjoined hands and minds and souls.
A cross that we will not bear alone
is His promise to us from that fateful day,
for us to cross the finishing line together,
each stumbling step along the crippling, arduous way,
to hear Him welcome us Home at last,
to a well-deserved rest and embrace in Him,
because each stumbling step we took,
with a sister in front, a brother behind,
with the cross He bore together with us,
leads us closer to win the Prize of Life
While answering one another’s call-
For help, compassion and love.
This is His will, not ours in His time to see
at last how truly we have earned our crown,
to be His child, a child of GOD!
To be there with Him in eternity.
1 John 3:1-3 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called Children of God!
Doorways To Love - Poems By Angeline Tok 