Stripped Away
Yesterday I had coffee (well, actually I had tea) with my dear friend Ginger at Kyra’s Bake Shop in Lake Oswego. (As a side note, Kyra’s is a 100% gluten-free bakery and the treats are delicious. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true.)
I gave Ginger a signed copy of my book, which she encouraged me to publish. We had a great visit and I was telling her about the culmination of my year of no fear in 2014, which began when she and I went to a writers’ conference in the spring. She said to me, “I think there’s a poem in that.” This is not the first time that very phrase from Ginger’s lips has resulted in a poem. So I’m dedicating this one to Ginger. It’s my first post of 2015 (so, no, Post-a-Day isn’t happening) as a perfect recap of what God did in 2014.
Stripped Away
One by one
You stripped away
Each old fear
That stood in my way
To becoming what
You planned for me
A child of God
Hopeful and free
“No fear” I wrote
I thought it true
So many fears
Had been quelled by You
“No fear” I wrote
Yet one remained
A truth to tell
Laden with pain
Still You were faithful
In my year of no fear
To take that last one
And make it clear
That the truth once told
Would set me free
And the bond I cherish
Will forever be
Now there is nothing
For me to fear
Not even fear itself
Can snicker or sneer
To set me adrift
From the course You’ve laid
Sharing my freedom
In never being afraid
1/13/15 update: The dVerse Poetics Prompt today is to write about a secret. Since this poem involves a secret truth that needed to be told, I decided to share it there.
Go Girl !!!!
🙂
“One by one
You stripped away
Each old fear
That stood in my way
To becoming what
You planned for me
A child of God
Hopeful and free”
Such wonderful thought weaved with so much simplicity – very well done. Thank you for making it to my prompt.
Thanks. I felt a little bad that I didn’t actually write something in response to your wonderful prompt, but was delighted to find that it fit so well with what I had just written. 🙂 Peace, Linda
How true we feel so free after getting rid of all the fears!
The greatest stripping i ever know.. is the strip of fear A way FOR LOVE..
AND truly with real UNCONDITIONAL love there is NO room for fear.. in A loving heArt.. like this.. of human.. as practicing light..:)
of love.
After realeasing a weight, once often feels freer than before when one was less aforementioned weight.
I do feel free, indeed!
Fear and secrets can really hold us back, weigh us down… you portrayed that so well here, and the sense of freedom when finally they are released.
Thanks – what a nice comment. It’s nice to know I’ve succeeded in portraying the feeling I experienced myself.
The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret.
~Salvador Dali
Beautiful poem…You are have such a brilliant mind and imagination. 🙂
Thank you – what a nice comment. Peace, Linda
You’re welcome. You should stop by and read what I wrote based on the prompt challenge. I know you’ll like it a lot. I have a big secret to tell on their. but you’ll have to read it yourself. 🙂
The opposite of fear is faith. So many times keeping a secret can make us fearful, especially if the secret involved shame, or sin. Perfect love casts out fear, however.
That reminds me of one of my favorite sayings: “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered, and there was nobody there.” Peace, Linda
Fear is definitely a feeling that would be part of having secrets.. digging them up and disposing has to be a way to live without fear.
what freedom there is when we finally lay that last thing down….the one secret we were unwilling to share…for sure…that is a beautiful day…
oh how precious it is to be free from fear as it totally binds us… glad that he spoke so specifically into your circumstances
Love this too, Linda, and am so excited to know that a no fear life is possible with Him! God bless!
With God all things are possible! Praise the Lord. Peace, Linda
I love this poem! I am so happy for you, too. I struggle with fear. It encourages my heart to see someone who has also struggled to be set free.
Love,
Theresa
Theresa, One of my favorite verses is 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV:
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
No fear is possible with Jesus! Peace, Linda