Thoughts from a Seeking Soul
©2024 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
I woke up with one thought today,
one bracing bit of spirit wealth:
In life, there is no gift more sweet
than the freedom to be yourself.
God promised us free agency.
As spirits, one day we were told
that we could take a body and
be sent to earth, a mortal soul.
We recognized the risk, the challenge,
but we never could have known
how difficult the task would be –
subduing fallen flesh and bone.
We had not felt the heady sense
of bristling physicality –
of climbing high and running far
to show ourselves who we could be.
We could not know the thrilling rush
of moving fast and free as air,
our bodies poised to take the leap
simply because the leap was there.
The taste of food and drink was new,
as was temptation in that guise.
Each burst of flavor reeled us in
to choices either weak or wise.
Our bodies made us vulnerable,
susceptible in every way.
Disease, disaster, sin, and woe
would test our hearts from day to day.
The body was a blessing, adding
texture, substance, joys unknown;
but it was hard to mange, willful,
more earthbound than spirit alone.
And this was good – our Father’s plan –
prepared for all who chose to grow.
Body and spirit, joined as one,
have greater power to learn, to know.
So here we are, eager to please –
tested and tried, blessed and taught.
We want to do our very best,
lest all our efforts be for naught.
And then it comes, a lifetime blow
that sinks you like a broken ship.
You struggle, but you cannot swim;
the current holds you in its grip.
Your body, weak and weary, fails;
your spirit wails beneath the load.
You know, deep in your aching heart
that what you reaped was never sowed.
Where is the agency in this?
An ailing body, wrapped in pain.
How does the spirit rise above
when misery has come to reign?
You want to be yourself, the self
you know, the self you understand.
But your body has lost control,
and illness has the upper hand.
And so you reach out to the One,
The Master of the Earth and sea,
The God who loves…has loved…will always
love you through eternity.
He lifts you up, raises you high
beyond the frailties of earth.
Your heart soars freely once again
just as it did before your birth.
The Spirit whispers, “All is well.”
Your self, healing, responds in kind.
Encircled in love’s arms, you rest –
weak body – strong spirit, refined.
The soul, in a process old as time,
wherein God leaves no child alone,
enlarges itself when the spirit prevails,
taught and tempered by body and bone.
For that is the way souls are grown.
∞∞∞
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:11-13).
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
If this poem resonated with you, you might also relate to Peace, My Child and To This End Was He Born.
Tags: acceptance, adversity, body, cancer, eternal perspective, eternal progression, God, growth, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, overcoming, pain, soul, spirit
