Upward
The cold wind was whipping through the thinning canopy above me and was trying to penetrate through my layers of clothing. Clouds were chasing across the sky as if in an evil race to cover the warming rays of the sun. The path grew dimmer and colder with each step. Dead leaves were falling all around me. I pulled my hat down into my face and zipped the coat tighter.
My head was bent low, shoulders shrugged up, and eyes on my feet. My heart was heavy. Soul-burdens threatened to keep my eyes and mind here, in that place of cold perspective.
I stared to pray.
Lift my heavy heart
Upward, God, upward
To Your throne of grace.
~
Teach my mind to rise
Upward, God, upward
Above my limited, earthly perspective.
~
Point me toward my inheritance in Christ
Upward, God, upward
To where He is seated.
~
Help my spirit soar
Upward, God, upward
To where my claim of Hope resides.
~
Draw my soul into Your awe-filled presence
Until I know and rise above these doubts –
Upward, God, upward.
~
“Abba, Father, My Maker, my Friend,
You hold the universe in Your capable hands.
My weak and often doubt-filled heart
is in constant need of Your Spirit to guide me upward.
Lift my spirit and mind.
Fill me with the Hope of Heaven and
a peace that passes all understanding.
I love You.”
~
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless before him.
In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace,
with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6 ~ ESV
(Click here for more spiritual blessings in Christ and the first chapter of Ephesians)
Such beautiful, evocative images and poetic writing! I can almost feel the cold wind, hear the rustle of the leaves, and watch your spirit lift and soar. Beautiful…
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Your poem reminds me of those flight take-offs on gloomy, overcast days. When the plane breaks through the clouds, suddenly it’s a gorgeous, sunlit morning/afternoon!
The clouds of circumstance can limit our perspective. But God’s light is always shining. Teach me to fly, Lord, above the doubts. Lift my spirit to your awe-filled presence!
Thank you, Heidi, for your heart-touching poetry that draws my spirit upward!
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You are right. That is a wonderful way to look at it. May we, just as that plane, rise quickly above our gloomy circumstances and remember that there is no darkness with our God! He is the Light! Blessings, dear Nancy!
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Absolutely beautiful . . as I too pray for that upward movement daily! This truly blessed me to rise higher today ~ Blessings ~
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Let’s keep praying and reminding one another! Blessings to you and your ministry!
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This is a beautiful word picture, Heidi. I join my heart with yours in prayer that we don’t stay here, but move forward into His glorious light.
\o/
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So glad for you sister, and for your desire to draw upward … lets continue to remind each other, through the Word, to stay that course 🙂 Blessings, to you Tami!
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This resonated as a hymn, Heidi, a heart cry unto Him! Thank you so much for sharing it with us, so we can pray too. Love and prayers!
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Thank you, Debbie. Yes, may our heart’s cry always be unto Him. Your presence and comments are a blessing to me 🙂
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Heidi, this is so beautifully uplifting and affirming. May we focus ‘upward’ always. Your pictures are wonderful too!
Blessings ~ Wendy
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Yes, Wendy, may we continue to focus on Him – no matter the opposition. Bless you, dear blogging and poet friend!
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I am touched by the sincerity and humility of tone in this beautiful poem and prayer. I love the repetition of “Upward, God upward” in each stanza. How wonderful that when we feel low, we have our Heavenly Father Who listens to our heart. Thank you, Heidi, for sharing these beautiful words and feelings to which I can personally relate. Blessings, Dee
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Thank you, Dee. As I was walking in the woods, just two days ago, these words kept coming to my heart. At one point, I was praying them out loud and had my face lifted upward, against the wind and rain … there was a real struggle to keep looking toward heaven, both physically, there in the cold, as well as spiritually, despite the soul-burdens I was carrying. God is so good and patiently teaches us how to keep our eyes on Him. Blessings to you, as you keep looking at Him – upward 🙂
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Beautiful Heidi … full of peace and encouragement.
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Beautiful God, Liana! He is full of peace and encourages our heart to keep looking up to Him. Thanks for always pointing us upward at your blog! Blessings to you!
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Oh this is perfectly wonderful–I’d like to keep a copy in my Bible, if that’s alright. Thank you for the blessing–God bless you BIG today–love, sis Caddo
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Praise God, if anything you find here blesses you. Of course it’s alright to keep a copy. Thank you, sis Caddo. Your kind words blessed my heart.
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I’m SO Often blessed by your blog, Sis–otherwise I wouldn’t be a faithful reader. God speaks through different people when I need His word tweaked sometimes!
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What an amazing God … Caddo, you have such an amazing gift with words. You are an intelligent and marvelous writer …Blessings to you, dear blogging friend
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OH! My head just blew up! “Intelligent” AND “Marvelous”?? I’ll cruise through the rest of the week on your lavish praise–where do I send the gift bag?
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Ha … I totally forgot to add hilarious … 😮
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Heidi, I love how the top photo matches what you were praying for God to do. To lift your spirit upward toward the light of His presence. Lovely
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How hard it is to stay focused upward. I am grateful He patiently keeps pointing me there… be blessed, sister, as you keep looking up 🙂
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