REFLECTIONS

Shimmering

Blurry

Never staying still

Distortions of reality

Reversed

SPLASH!   Gone

Wait with Patience

Try to Decipher it again

Can we trust the reflections of our minds?!

Most of my poetry follows a very rhythmic pattern, but sometimes I just like to sit back and observe something and write down the first words that come to my mind and then see if it relates to anything in life.   This one I actually jotted down on an envelope while I was watching my kids play at the swimming pool. I focused on the water and all the activity that was going on in it.   So much activity goes on in our minds on a day to day basis. Trying to remember something from years ago can be difficult, and it made me wonder how well we can trust our memories after they have been jumbled with everything else our brain is expected to sort out.  The attached picture I took at the Boise Zoo and was amazed at vividness of the reflection. In fact when I had it printed, I had a hard time knowing which end was land and which was water. Upon further examination , however, I was able to pick out certain objects that were not in the reflection.  It was very intriguing to me!

THE ANIMAL WITHIN

The animal within can relay a lot about you.
Which one is the animal most closely related to you?
Are you prideful like a lion, looking down on all he sees?
Are you joyful like a monkey, swinging carefree through the trees?
Are you loyal like a dog that doesn’t leave its master’s side,
Or are you timid like a mouse that will run away and hide?
Do you stretch like the giraffe that reaches high for hopes and dreams,
Or are you like the schools of fish working well within their teams?
Are you curious like a kitten, always mischief to be found,
Or observant like a panther, watching without a sound?
Do you laugh like the hyena, bringing smiles to all faces,
Or are you growly like a bear as he grumbles and he paces?
Are you generous like the meerkat, always helping neighbors out,
Or are you like the hoarding squirrel, for his own needs he has doubt?
Are you slow like the elephant, deliberate in each move,
Or are you fast like the cheetah, his quick thinking he must prove?
Are you busy like a honey bee and never settling down,
Or are you like the sloth, to an easier life you are bound?
Are you zealous like the dolphin, chattering all the way,
Or are you like a rabbit, reserved  and quiet all the day?
Are you aggressive like the wolf, never having any fear,
Or  are you gentle like the lamb, to safety you’ll stay near?
Are you anxious like the busy ant, bustling here and there?
Do you exhibit the eagle’s strength,  flying high up in the air?
Some are noble, some are pure, admirable, right and lovin’.
From time to time  evaluate  the animal within.

By JoEllen Claypool

DANCE

Dance in the sun

Dance in the rain

Dance through the fun

Dance through the pain

Dance with a smile

Dance with a tear

Dance through the hope

Dance through the fear

Dance with eyes closed

Dance with eyes wide

Dance all alone

Dance by my side

Dance on the rooftop

Dance on the stage

Dance in the love

Dance in the rage

Dance as you listen

Dance as you sing

Dance on a prayer

Dance on a wing

Dance in the snow

Dance in the leaves

Dance while life steadies

Dance while life weaves

Dance in the shadow

Dance in the glow

Dance while you wonder

Dance while you know

Dance early morning

Dance late at night

Dance with all heart

Dance with all might

Dance with a purpose

Dance carefree

Dance to consider

Dance just to be

Dance

By JoEllen Claypool

ACQUAINTANCE TO FRIEND

Acquaintance to friend, 

an almost magical event. 

At what point does it actually occur? 

As soon as you hear the first genuine laugh,

the first hug,

or when you truly start hearing her? 

When you start to hear 

beyond the words that are said 

but can hear the words of the eyes and heart. 

When you can begin feeling 

their hurt and their pain; 

that's when a true friendship will start. 

Then walls are broke down 

and they will let you come in 

and share the life they have had. 

You can be silly at times 

or just sit quiet together 

and share the good and the bad. 

A trust starts to form, 

bond you might say, 

and the road in your life will bend.

You start a new journey, 

a new chapter of a book. 

They are no longer an acquaintance but a friend. 

By JoEllen Claypool

EVEN IF

Keeping our emotions in check is a very difficult thing. Wouldn't you agree?  Many of our emotions are dependent on our circumstances.  We get frustrated if things don't go our way.  We get  angry if someone cuts us off in traffic or we feel that some injustice has been done to us.  We are sad if we lose someone we love. We feel insecure if we are not being recognized. We may be disappointed if someone else wins a record-breaking lottery. Those are all natural emotions. However, we have to exercise some control. II Timothy 1:7 says "For God has not given us the spirit of fear or timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline."  It has always comforted me to know that the one emotion that I know can remain constant is joy. No matter what I am experiencing, my joy can never be altered because it is not dependent on my circumstances but on the hope that I have in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

I have MORE good news! There is an emotion that we do not have to control:  unashamedness.  Yes, it's a word. I looked it up. It is the feeling of no remorse, shame or embarrassment.  In fact it can be an impossible one to control. In Acts 4, Peter and John have just been released from jail and have been told not to speak the name of Jesus again.   Acts 4:20 shows their response. "As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." They just couldn't help it! They HAD to speak about it.

Wouldn't it be great if our faith was as natural as our emotions that want to explode from our inner being?  Three young men in the Bible have become my new heroes lately as I have examined one little phrase that they said to King Nebuchadnezzar as they were getting ready to be thrown into the fiery furnace. Here is the passage from Daniel 3:16-19:   "16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed."

Did you catch the phrase that hit me? In verse 18 , the words BUT EVEN  IF hit me like a brick. They were so sure of the fact that the Lord was their Defender and that He was able to save them. They even said, "He WILL rescue us from your hand".  These boys were wise enough to know that the way in which God chose to defend them and rescue them may not necessarily look like what they felt rescuing was, but they would be rescued nonetheless. No matter what they were being threatened with , they were not willing to compromise their faith.  "EVEN IF He does not...we will not serve your gods." That's a boundary, if I've ever seen one!  What courage! Do you have that kind of faith? EVEN IF things don't go your way, are you going to continue to serve God?  No matter what's at stake, are you willing to live in obedience and trust that God will rescue you? Are you willing to take it a step further, as these young men did, and be unashamed and proclaim boldly that you will continue to serve your God?

It made me reflect on a few of my EVEN IF moments from the past. EVEN IF my marriage fails, am I going to continue to serve? EVEN IF I have a miscarriage, am I going continue to praise the name of the Lord? EVEN IF it takes me over a year to conceive again, am I going to acknowledge that the Lord is in control? EVEN IF my house burns down, am I going to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength?  EVEN  IF I have to sit back and helplessly watch my husband go through the loss of his ailing father and muster the strength to preach at his funeral, am I going to fall at the feet of Jesus and thank Him for that trial?

Here is my honest answer. I got angry. I asked, "Why?" I cried many tears throughout my trials. However,  I never lost my joy or my hope and I never doubted who I was or Whose I was. I remember the pastor from our previous church asking me how I was doing after our house fire. I gave a one word answer, "Victorious." Believe me, I was just as surprised as he was with the answer that automatically came out of my mouth. I am victorious in any situation because I am the daughter of the King Most High! I am Royalty and I choose to have EVEN IF faith!