Lead on, Lord...

Weather beaten like an old farm plow
Is my shield of faith that I hold out
to the torrential rain of financial struggle

I know my Father is rich in houses and land
Yet, my cupboards are empty and my thin coat I can't stand
There's the pressures of rent, of schooling and gas
there's the extra labor for clothing, for food and for cash


I know that there must be an answer
that will close the books forever on this monetary cancer
I must plan for the land to be ploughed, watered and seeded -
Much prayer and many resources will be needed


I believe that tomorrow is the fruit of today
that blossomed and ripened in the labor I do and the words that I say
This is my Father's world - the gold and the silver are His
My path is never to forfeit even one little piece
of the adventures and rainbows of treacherous seas


So valiantly I go forward swinging my shield
It is time for project and process in this here field
Rain, sunshine or snow - it matters not
for this I know: That seasons will come and seasons will go
So I will find joy in today
In the truth of the clay resting and abiding in the Potter's Way


It is the pressure of His hand that I feel  as He firmly holds me
It is the shaping of my form I sense as He gently leads me


My faith shield, being tested by storms,
will be able to testify of distinguished norms
That though the struggles of life attempt to strip its colour
It only adds depth and boldness to the hand that holds it
An unwavering certainty that courage enfolds it

Written by: Yulande Oosthuyzen
New Westminster, BC November 2010