Faith

Faith can be messy

And riddled with questions

It can be complicated

Faith is a journey

A journey with struggles

It can be hard to understand

How things can happen

And why are they allowed to

Do you wonder and question?

Well you are not alone

Humankind wrestles these complexities

Of a hard life and a loving God

Where is God when life is tough?

Where is he in the mayhem?

In the shootings and the fires?

That brings destruction to life

God is always there

Even when we cannot see him

And even in our doubts

He knows us inside out

Jo Anne Kennedy

October 2017

You Are Seen

To the woman in the corner

Crouching on the ground

Scared of the next thump

Please be reassured you are seen

To the boy running away

From the bullies in school

Scared of the next beating

Please be reassured you are seen

To the girl being abused

Hiding in a darkened room

Scared of the night time

Please be reassured you are seen

To the man under stress

In a job that is too much

And is taking its toll on you

Please be reassured you are seen

To the people who are scared

To those who are invisible

To those who are struggling

Please be reassured the Lord sees everything

He sees all we do

The bad and the good

He sees our heartache and pain

And he loves us all

He does protect us

Though it may not seem it

But he is working for us

As we are his precious children

Jo Anne Kennedy

October 2017

Prayer

So many words

Floating in the air

Trying to reach you

From us below

We send up requests

We plea in anguish

Asking you to help us

To come amidst our problems

Every night, every day

Every hour, every moment

Prayers are being said

Waiting for your answer

Do you answer us?

Yes you do every time

But it is not always a yes

Sometimes it’s a maybe

Sometimes we get a no

And we don’t understand

Why we prayed for healing

But the person passed away

We need to trust in you

To realise that you always hear us

Even as all our prayer mingle together

You always hear our individual voices

You are a God who is never distracted

You focus on us always

Listening to our prayers

And hearing them clearly

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Paul

Paul is an apostle

He was the boss

He was tough

He was fierce

His endurance was great

He was broken

He was stranded

He was shipwrecked

He was imprisoned

He was forever in danger

But still, he endured

He laboured

He toiled

He went without sleep

He went without food

He went without drink

But still, he endured

Paul was strong

Mentally and physically

But yet he felt weak

He was weak to sin

But yet he was positive

He didn’t let life overwhelm him

Paul pressed on

He continued living

He was bold and courageous

He was confident

Because he knew the truth

The strength of God would not fail him

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Fear

Fear

Fear is a four letter word

Which we all fear!

Because it is considered weak

To be afraid of something

But fear is real

It is the gap in our armor

And is used by our enemies

To trip us and cripple us

Fear haunts us every day

From family woes

To health scares

Fear is all around

It is okay to be afraid

It isn’t a sign of weakness

It is just a fact of life

Fear is a reality

Fear shouldn’t cripple us

It should give us strength

We should stand up to fear

Because we do not need to be afraid

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Alone

To be alone

To be rejected

It is a double sting

It brings isolation

It brings hurt

And leaves deep wounds

When we are abandoned

And left in the corner

While they walk away

And leave us on our own

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Bedrock

When terror strikes,

You don’t unravel

You remain steadfast

And in control

Everything is in your hands

Including us

No matter how violently the earth shakes

You never let go

You are always with us

Watching over us

Helping us with our lives

Ad keeping us together

I thank you for being you

For bringing me into the world

And never letting me go

You are the bedrock of my life

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Your Presence

Lord, I need your presence

More than I need air

I need you to infiltrate

Yourself in the terror of the world

Come to us in the midst of horror

Reassure us in the fragile times

Our world is falling apart

And we need you more than ever

Our world is a mess

With bombings on the London tube

To winds and seas raging,

And causing total destruction

People rush to blame you

For the destruction that is caused

When lives are torn apart

And the economy collapses

But what we need to do

Is come into your presence

Trust our lives with you

And give you our fears

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Pride

Pride is destructive

It refuses counsel

Denies leadership

Ignores sovereignty

Demands its own way

And forgets the cost

Pride is sinful

And pride can make us fall

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Not in Control

We are the created

Not the creator

We are not here to control

But to look after

We are not to charge,

Like a bull into a china shop

And make rash decision

That could change the world

But this is exactly what we do

As we are proud

We are independent

Even though we should be dependent

We are determined to control

To take the world into our own hands

To achieve our dreams

And control out destinies

But the truth is, we can’t

It’s not our role to control

We can have all the dreams

But they might come crashing down

As the harsh reality is

Life never goes our way

We want to rule the world

But then tragedy happens

Doctors bring bad news

Your job comes to an end

Money is scarce

And friends walk away

We are not in control

We need to remember that

And to give our life over

To the higher power

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Under Your Power

To be under your power

Makes me feel weak

Unable to be strong

And stand on my own two feet

I feel like I need your help

To make every decision

To say yes to being ok

And approving my every move

You are like an addiction

Hard to overcome

But necessary to remove

Due to the destruction you cause

You make my head dizzy

With your yes’s and no’s

Unable to make a decision

About how you want to treat me

As one moment you are nice

And the next you ignore me

But even though it’s destroying me

I still come back for more

Because you are in my head

I can’t seem to let go

And it actually seems

That either can you

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017

Bully

You took away my value

Made me feel low

My self-worth was gone

Your words hurt

They were like slaps to the face

Leaving a lasting sting

You spoke behind my back

Laughing at my flaws

Making my life miserable

But that was then

And this is now

Life has moved on

Yes people may hurt me

Words may be said

And people walk away

However, I am older now

Though I may not be wiser

But I can hold my own

I am not alone

I have someone in my corner

Helping me to stand strong

Sometimes you enter my thoughts

But you don’t own me anymore

That scared girl has gone

Jo Anne Kennedy

September 2017