Mhttp://godsbigshow.blogspot.com/y Blog List

Tuesday 6 August 2019

A labourer let me be

' Stay in bed for the day ' my husband said ' get rid of that cold '.  ' Hmm.. ' I thought, ' maybe I will have a few hours in bed.'    ' I could do with a rest.'  I replied.  So I had stayed in bed that morning and much of the afternoon.
As I lay there, gazing out through the window, I watched the people passing by in the street and reflected on how their lives might be, on whether there might be sadness behind the smile, or worry and anxiety behind the sombre look.  I thought of how little we might know about one another's lives, whether we be workmates, neighbours or even strangers.  After a while my husband brought me a cup of tea and I started to feel a little better, and decided to read.  I looked at my collection of books on my shelves and chose a book of poems called ' In Memory Of ', a collection of poets' tributes to, and memories of, friends and loved ones that had died.  As I read poem after poem of peoples' feelings, some of joyful memories and some of grief, I began to realize that God was revealing to me what I had pondered on earlier while gazing through my window.  He was now showing me what lay behind a face in the street, revealing to me peoples' innermost feelings, people who were mostly hurting through loss and loneliness.I don't believe that God does anything by chance.  I am a Christian and, as it says in Psalm 139 that every day in my life was written in His book before even one of them was formed. 
 As I lay in my bed I had to question my part in life as far as my fellow man was concerned.  I read on and became filled with compassion for the people who had allowed me to see into their lives.  I know that on that day, when I was brought to see inside the hearts and minds of others, I felt compassion which brought in turn responsibility.  I had been made aware of the loneliness and suffering of others, Christians included, and it had compelled me to want to play my part in life to the best of my ability.  May the Lord help me always to be alert to where and when I may help another.
One poem in particular about a man who was grief stricken at the loss of his soul mate and looked to God for release filled me with such sadness that it brought me to write this poem which contains, I suppose, some of my own deepest feelings.

The Window

' Twas sickness caused me on that day
to rest and in my bed to lay
While through my window I could see
the world outside did not need me
It carried on its busy life
 regardless of my pain and strife
Yet as I gazed upon the scene
that lay beyond lace covered screen
I wondered at each passer by
 .... If face reflected truth or lie

I lay in comfort needing naught 
my husband food and drink had brought
but for my mind to idle be 
was nothing short of misery
Then suddenly my eye was cast 
upon my books - a treasure vast
A book of poems I should read 
to satisfy my spirit's need
to see what lay within the mind 
of other creatures of my kind
I turned the pages one by one .... 
a stirring journey had begun
For hidden there in every leaf was joy 
and sorrow, love and grief
A vast collection here was seen  
of frozen dreams that might have been
of past regrets and loneliness  
sweet memories of tenderness
Lost loves and breaking of the heart 
when sudden death caused to depart
a soul mate of so many years
My burning cheeks felt cooling tears

Such moving stories I had read 
as I lay sick upon my bed
A window had been shown to me 
through which I'd seen reality
of pain that lay behind a smile 
of need to go the extra mile
What of my part in life I thought 
what words of comfort had I brought
In all my years upon this Earth 
What words of love, support and worth
had touched the lives of those I'd met 
Was there remorse, was there regret ?
What use is it if kindly word 
is left in thought and never heard
This world that from my bed I saw
that looked so proud and strong before
has need of me .... and I of it 
each soul to do its special bit

To share with others words of love 
God's seeds of blessing from above
is all that may be asked of me 
to help to set another free
from pain and hurt and misery 
that death and loss has caused to be
but seeds can never come to birth 
unless they're planted in the earth
So Father help me in my life 
to ease a fellow creature's strife
to seek my Lord to try to do 
the things that I have learned from You
and may You cause my eyes to see 
windows of opportunity
to stretch a tender loving hand 
towards the suffering in this land
to sow Your seeds of love and peace 
that word and deed might bring release



















Before I finish this post I feel led to add a song that I wrote some time ago.

A labourer let me be

A child is dying in the street - it cries aloud for bread
do you give of what you have or watch it til it's dead
The harvest now is ready, the fields are white I see
one thing I ask my Father, a labourer let me be
a labourer let me be.

A world was dying in its sin - it didn't ask for bread
God could have given punishment. He gave His Son instead
Yes, He gave His Son instead.
The harvest now is ready - the fields are white I see
one thing I ask my Father, a labourer let me be
A labourer let me be.
Teach us to be humble Lord while bearing precious seed
To deal our bread from Heaven to those who are in need
To those who are in need.

For what is salt without the savour
what is the church without the Word
What use are we among the prisoners
if they say 'Lord we never heard'
If they say 'Lord we never heard'.

The harvest now is ready - the fields are white I see
one thing I ask my Father, a labourer let me be
a labourer let me be.


29 comments:

Sandi said...

You are a laborer, Brenda. All the right people will read your words. Some will meet you face to face, but not all. Some will only see you here.

I was deeply moved to hear about the poems you read and to read yours. We reflect as we go through the years. There is so much to a life.

Keith said...

Very Timely, at least for me. Thanks, Brenda. In all things, do it for the Glory of God. Amen!!

Brenda said...

Hi Sandi,
All glory to God the Father and Jesus our wonderful source of strength in this life. As sisters and brothers we are all labourers in the body of Christ, and it is a joy to share our experiences both outside and on our blogs. God bless you as you share your thoughts and experiences too Sandi.

Brenda said...

Hi Keith,
I am so glad my post was timely for you, and I totally agree in doing all things for the glory of God. I hope there is nothing bad or sad in your life at this moment Keith. If you need any prayer then I will pray for you, whether you want to share it publicly or privately - maybe on an email. God is our strength when we are weak, a very present help in time of need.
God bless you with all the love He has for us.

Jephyr! said...

Hi Brenda, Yes and amen to everything you shared here. I just finished re-reading the book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. Her family served in the Dutch underground in WWII and were imprisoned for that in horrific Nazi concentration camps. But the family's faith in Jesus sustained them—and they served the Lord with loving compassion for EVERYONE throughout their ordeal—seeing even the worst of their tormentors with God's heart and eyes. I was moved by that and desire to be that kind of servant—and your post certainly confirms that in my spirit. God Bless you and thank you for sharing.

Brenda said...

Hi Jephyr,
good comment Jephyr,
no matter what we think we see from the outer perspective, we do not know what is on the inside of a person and what has influenced them to be that way - whether good or bad. All exterior actions depend upon the interior spirit of a person. We must never let that spirit cause love and forgiveness to leave our hearts and minds.
God bless you and yours Jephyr.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
Your poem and song are truly beautiful and Spirit-inspired. Praise God that He allowed you to use this brief illness for spiritual reflection, which brought fruit in these verses to encourage and inspire others.
May we continue as laborers for Him until He brings us home.
May God bless you and your lovely ministry,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
isn't the Lord wonderful that He inspires us, through the great love He shows us He has for us,to love others in the same way and to be moved by the Holy Spirit to help others in any way we can, whatever that might be. I am so glad that God brought Jesus into my life, for without Him there would be nothing good in me. Thank you Father for Jesus our loving Saviour.
God bless you Laurie.

Keith said...

Thanks, Brenda!

Victor S E Moubarak said...

You are talented writing that song. Did you put it to music?

God bless.

Brenda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brenda said...

Yes I did Victor, all my songs have music that I put together on my guitar with the words that I wrote, but I have only had some put on a disk that can be played on my blog by a young man when I was in Wales. I Would not know how to do that. If you have not listened to that post scroll down to an older post called 'My testimony' and you will be able to listen to those songs contained within it.

Victor S E Moubarak said...

Hi Brenda,

Try loading your songs onto You Tube. It's simple. You're already a member as a member of Blogger.

God bless.

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Brenda! Praise the Lord for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and for making us a new creation in Him!
God bless you,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Hi Victor,my voice is not the same as it was when I sang on my disc, so I just sing in my workroom. :-)

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie, absolutely all glory to God and His wonderful Son.

Sateigdra knowles said...

Hi Brenda,
It's been a while since I've dropped by to read one of your posts. Enjoyed reading this post and the lovely poem you wrote. Hope all is well. :-)

Brenda said...

Hi Sateigdra,
lovely to hear from you. I haven't seen a post come up on your blog for a couple of years. I think you were posting on another media which I did not know how to get into. Thank you for your kind comment, I only post when I am inspired to do so, sometimes there is a gap of a few months. If you have a blog site let me know, I am not very good on technology and am not on Facebook or any other social media. I am fine, (getting over a cold). We are living in Northern Ireland at the moment - love it - I don't know if we were here the last time I was in touch with you. Hope you are well too. :-)

RCUBEs said...

"I don't believe that God does anything by chance. "

I agree with you sister Brenda. What compassion poured out from your heart towards other because He filled it with His love! I find myself at times asking the Lord what significance a certain event or people who cross my path has for me. Always asking for His discernment. Because I know there are lots of hurting ones outside my home. Though their faces might not show. Thank you for sharing your heart through the words you wrote. God bless and may you always remain strong in His mighty power.

Brenda said...

Hi Rosel,
I am sorry I have been late in answering, I have had a rather bad cough and have not spent a lot of time on my blog. That poem regarding my sickness was written when I was in bed not very well some time ago when we were living in Wales, but through that time spent in bed the Lord revealed so much to me about our need to understand that it is only God Who sees the whole picture in anyone's life.
God bless you Rosel, I am on the mend now.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
Amen! We are nothing without His Spirit working through us once we have been saved by trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. May we give Him all the praise and all the glory!
God bless you,
Laurie

Brenda said...

That's right Laurie,
the old man is now dead, the new has come, and that is the Holy Spirit guided new creation that we are as we learn God's ways and thoughts.
God bless.

Laurie Collett said...

May we die daily, as Paul said, to the flesh and the old man, and yield daily to the Spirit and walk in Him.
god bless you too!
Laurie

Elephant's Child said...

Love that you see the merit and value of being a labourer.
Which the very best of people are...

Brenda said...

Hi Sue, (Elephant's Child)
We never see the whole picture of anybody. To cut a long story short, my friend in Wales and myself were for eighteen months prison visitors on a lifers' wing. There was one man who could not forgive himself because he had killed his best friend with a claw hammer,he had been under the influence of drugs. He cried each time we visited him. We told him that God would forgive him because of his sorrow and repentance for what he had done. It started to change his life. I could cry even now thinking about some of the stories we heard in that prison. There was a Rastafarian there who was the chef in the kitchen - he had lovely cakes waiting for us as we went in each week, and welcomed us with the words 'Come in ladies':-) We loved the time we spent there.

Sateigdra knowles said...

Hi Brenda, It's been a while since I have dropped by to read one of your lovely blog posts. Hopefully, I can make time to catch up on what you've shared recently. I enjoyed your lovely poem you shared here. May we all be encouraged to do our part while here on earth. Reminds me of this scripture, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10.
Hope all is well with you. God bless.

Brenda said...

Hi Sateigdra,
it is lovely to hear from you. I continue to put blog posts up whenever I feel inspired to do so. I do not attend a church gathering at the moment (God does not live in a house built with hands) I go wherever the Lord sends me, but I do love interacting with other believers on my blog, and know that the Lord led me to do this. It would be nice to be able to interact with you on a blog, but I believe you have stopped blogging on this kind of site, and this is the only one I keep. I do not like Facebook or anything on line like that, I found it very boring and came off it. I like meeting people in the streets and still give out my leaflets when encouraged to do so. The true church is the body of Christ on earth, and I have seen many with 'Santa' on their indoor walls. As far as I am concerned 'Santa' is an Antichrist. Jiggle his name around and we have 'SATAN'. Children are not being taught about Jesus anymore in most schools and even so called churches.

Brenda said...

By the way, I agree with what you say regarding Ephesians 2 v.10, and I am well in the Lord at the moment.
God bless.

Donna said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.